Abstract
Small diameter hydrocyclones, or micro-hydrocyclones (below 100 mm), are commonly used in the industry due to their ability to achieve cut sizes lower than 40 μm. In order to know this cut sizes, the analysis of the particle size of the hydrocyclone streams is required. There are different techniques to obtain this information, like sieving, laser diffraction, sedimentation or microscopy. The work presented is part of one of the stages of an R&D project performed between the CPWV research group of the Chemical Engineering Department of the UPV/EHU and NOVATTIA DESARROLLOS Ltd. with the objective of achieving a more flexible, compact, and efficient hydrocyclone technology than the actual one. The goal of the study was to test the influence of the technique used to analyze the particle size of the streams on the cut size of the micro-hydrocyclone. The equipment employed to measure the particle size were Mastersizer 2000 (laser diffraction) and Sedigraph III (sedimentation). The results showed that there is a great influence of the analysis technique on the cut size.
