• Control of Vehicular & Industry Emission

A cyclone removes particulates by causing the dirty airstream to flow in a spiral path inside a cylindrical chamber. Dirty air enters the chamber from a tangential direction at the outer wall of the device, forming a vortex as it swirls within the chamber.

The larger particulates, because of their greater inertia, move outward and are forced against the chamber wall. Slowed by friction with the wall surface, they then slide down the wall into a conical dust hopper at the bottom of the cyclone. The cleaned air swirls upward in a narrower spiral through an inner cylinder and emerges from an outlet at the top. Accumulated particulate dust is periodically removed from the hopper for disposal. Cyclones are best at removing relatively coarse particulates.

They can routinely achieve efficiencies of 90 percent for particles larger than about 20 micrometers (μm; 20 millionths of a meter). By themselves, however, cyclones are not sufficient to meet stringent air quality standards. They are typically used as pre-cleaners and are followed by more efficient air-cleaning equipment such as electrostatic precipitators and baghouses (described below).
The efficiency of a cyclone can be increased by the use of cyclones either in parallel or in series.