Cyclone Extra Efficiency (CEE)

During powder separation, two undesirable phenomena known as smearing and attrition can cause blockages and powder build-up, resulting in costly production shutdowns. If not designed optimally, cyclones are prone to both because of the high velocity swirl inside them.

Smearing – the depositing of powder in the cyclone – is highly problematic with powder that contains fat. The resulting blockages lead to stubborn deposits during cleaning in place (CIP). Attrition occurs when the powder particle size distribution is downgraded, which inherently lowers the separation efficiency and interrupts the drying process.

Performance matters

Improved cyclone performance delivers higher powder separation efficiency and minimization of smearing and attrition. With these, you can achieve better drying economy and, in some cases, you even get the option to omit the baghouse installed downstream.

Designed for reliable separation

Suitable for applications within the food, dairy and chemical drying sectors, GEA’s latest powder separation technology, the CEE, was developed using extensive laboratory tests, a comprehensive literature review and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modelling. Thorough examination of the new cyclone’s mechanical integrity was also conducted.

Computional Fluid Dynamics (CFD) has been used extensively to understand particle trajectories and gas flow for various cyclone designs. This has improved know-how about how different design features impact the performance of a given cyclone design.

Robust separation efficiency

The CEE is taller and slimmer than its predecessor, exhibiting a considerably higher powder separation efficiency.

The key benefits of the CEE are:
• Higher powder separation efficiency resulting in lower emissions
• Lower risk of smearing and attrition
• Clean-in-place nozzles can be applied
• Sturdy, proven design

Prediction of wall shear stress

During the development of the cyclone, we discovered that wall shear stress is a useful measure of the risk of both shearing and attrition. With this in mind, the wall shear stresses for several different cyclone designs and in different parts of the cyclone were evaluated before settling on the final design. Our testing showed lower wall shear stress in the CEE.