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ARS Home » Plains Area » Las Cruces, New Mexico » Cotton Ginning Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #149224
Title: OVER-SIZED CYCLONES FOR LOW PRESSURE COTTON GIN EXHAUSTS

Author
item Baker, Kevin
item Funk, Paul
item Hughs, Sidney

Submitted to: Applied Engineering in Agriculture
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/1/2004
Publication Date: 1/1/2004
Citation: Baker, K.D., Funk, P.A., Hughs, S.E. 2004. Over-sized cyclones for low pressure cotton gin exhausts. Applied Engineering in Agriculture. 20(4):413-415.

Interpretive Summary: Results from this research indicate that over-sized cyclones create much less (about 72% less) back pressure yet have nearly the same effectiveness in removing dust from the air as a standard-sized cyclone. This is beneficial because dust emissions from cotton gins can lead to air quality problems and gin owners should invest in equipment to reduce the amount of dust that is emitted from their gin in order to comply with local clean air standards. Depressed agricultural prices limit the amount of capital that can be invested in devices to remove dust from the air. Cyclones are one of the least expensive air cleaning devices that can be used in a gin; however, they increase the back pressure on fans. Sometimes fans must be replaced to overcome the additional back pressure from the newly installed cyclone. By installing an over-sized cyclone instead of a standard-sized cyclone in situations where the addtional back pressure would be a problem, the investment cost is reduced because fan replacement is not needed, yet air cleanliness is not compromised. Results are being disseminated to gin owners and operators as well as to state and local air pollution control boards.

Technical Abstract: Three cyclone separators were tested in a laboratory setting at four trash loading rates. Cyclone collection efficiency for over-sized cyclones was slightly less than the efficiency of a standard-sized cyclone, averaging 98.42 and 98.63%, respectively. Cyclone collection efficiency increased as trash loading rate increased, with average values ranging from 97.93% at a trash loading rate of 2 g/m3 (0.88 gr/ft3) to an average of 98.95% at a trash loading rate of 16 g/m3 (7.0 gr/ft3). Cyclone static pressure drops for over-sized cyclones were much less than those for standard-sized cyclones, with the static pressure drop in an over-sized cyclone averaging 28% of the value for a standard-sized cyclone. The authors concluded that, with their lower pressure drop, over-sized cyclones are more compatible than standard-sized cyclones on low pressure airflow systems that use axial-flow fans.