-Filtering hydrocyclone is a device that was developed and patented by the Particulate System Research Group at the Federal University of Uberlandia. This equipment consists of a hydrocyclone whose conical section is replaced by a conical filtering wall. Thus, during the operation of these devices, besides the underflow and overflow streams, there is another stream of liquid, resulting from the filtrate produced in the porous cone. In the present work, the influence of some geometric variables of a filtering hydrocyclone was analyzed by an experimental and CFD study. The geometric variables analyzed were underflow orifice diameter (D U ) and vortex finder length (ℓ). Data from a conventional hydrocyclone of the same configuration were also obtained. The results indicated that the performance of hydrocyclones is significantly influenced by the conical filtering wall. The incorporation of the filtering medium decreased the Euler numbers and increased the total efficiency of the hydrocyclones. Depending on the specific functions of the separator (as a classifier or concentrator) the best values of D U and ℓ were also found for the filtering hydrocyclone.

Hydrocyclones are centrifugal devices widely used in chemical industries and they are used to the solid or liquid particles separation of a fluid according to the density and size distribution of the dispersed phase. In order to maximize the separation in these devices, this work had as objective to study the influence of the filtration during the process of separation in hydrocyclones. Thus, experimental data were used to predict the behavior of a hydrocyclone having a porous cylinder in the same operating conditions of a conventional hydrocyclone (impermeable cylinder). The experimental studies showed that the filtration interferes directly in the performance of the separator, so the filtering hydrocyclone required a higher pumping power. Moreover, the experimental data also indicated that the presence of the porous cylinder in the hydrocyclone was able to increase the number of dragged particles in the underflow, increasing therefore the efficiency of separation.