Numerical study on a novel type of high gravity rotary gas-liquid separator

In textile printing and dyeing industry, a novel type of separator called high gravity rotary gas-liquid separator (HGRGS) is designed, which includes a rotary drum with multi-layer fins and an impeller. First, the structure and separation principle of HGRGS are introduced in this paper. Then, the flow field and separation efficiency are studied by CFD techniques. To ensure the accuracy of the numerical simulation, the results are verified by the available experimental data. Compared with the typical cyclone, the maximum pressure drop reduction rate in HGRGS is 64.7% when the gas enters at 10 m/s. Besides, for droplets less than 5 μm, the separation performance in HGRGS is more efficient and it will be greatly improved by 30% for 1 μm droplets. The numerical results also show that the tangential velocity inside the rotary drum is linear with the radius and the higher the rotating speed, the greater the tangential velocity. Moreover, the maximum tangential velocity between the forced and quasi-free vortex has moved to the vicinity of the outer wall, which is beneficial for droplets to move outward. Additionally, the droplets in HGRGS can be captured with enough residence time owing to the lower axial velocity than that in a typical cyclone.