The MEP Hydrocyclone uses centrifugal force to separate solids from liquid or to classify coarser or greater mass solids from finer or lesser mass solids.

This force is generated by converting the delivery head of slurry (by pump or gravity) at the inlet volute into a spiraling passage through the Cyclone.

This centrifugal action effectively impacts a force to the solid particles many hundred times greater than gravity. The amount is dependent on such variables as the delivery head pressure and the diameter of the Cyclone unit. This force impels solids outwards towards the shell of the cylinder and, once the conical section is reached, downwards toward the apex discharge.

The greater the mass of a given particle, the more easily it is encouraged to migrate to the apex and vice versa. Conversely, most of the liquid and the very fine particles are drawn to the middle of his rotating mass, where the centrifugal is much less (reducing to a partial vacuum at the axis). The fine particles are forced upward to the overflow via the vortex finder.

Applications

The Hydrocyclone is used for:

• Dewatering – efficiently to about 50% by volume

• Desliming – clays from sand

• Desliming – sands from clays

MEP Cyclones are often fitted to radial manifolds which are designed to evenly distribute the feed and collect the overflow and underflow streams from the cyclones.

Radial Manifolds or clusters are used when processing high volumes and finer cut sizes are required. They are used to recover solids down to 35 microns and save material reporting to lagoons.