GB2490188A

GB2490188A - A cyclone arrangement

Info

Publication number: GB2490188A
Application number: GB1121865.8A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Ian Mervyn Craig
Original assignee: Siemens VAI Metals Technologies Ltd
Current assignee: Primetals Asset Management UK Ltd
Priority date: 2011-04-19
Filing date: 2011-12-20
Publication date: 2012-10-24
Anticipated expiration: 2031-12-20
Also published as: GB201106573D0; BR112013026636A2; US20140033662A1; EP2699356A1; WO2012143390A1; RU2535309C1; GB201121865D0; UA107887C2; EP2699356B1; US8945264B2; CN103501917A; GB2490188B; CN103501917B

Abstract

A cyclone arrangement comprises a cyclone body 4, a plurality of inlet ducts 12a,b,c and an outlet 10. A first end 13 of each of the inlet ducts 12a,b,c is coupled to a downcomer 8 and a second end 14 of each of the inlet ducts 12a,b,c is coupled to the cyclone body 4. An end of the downcomer 8 proximate the cyclone body 4 is co-axial with the cyclone body 4, and each inlet duct 12a,b,c exits the downcomer 8 radially and enters the cyclone body 4 tangentially. Three or more inlet ducts 12a,b,c may be present and the downcomer 8 is preferably mounted to the cyclone body 4 on a support 11, with the outlet duct 10 exiting the cyclone body 4 through the support 11. An isolation valve may be mounted in each inlet duct 12a,b,c.

Description

I

CYCLONE

This invention relates to a cyclone, in particular one for use in a gas cleaning stage of an iron making unit.

With a standard single entry cyclone, the plant layout is restricted by the need for the dirty gas entry to enter thc cyclone vessel tangentially. This arrangement also limits options for the installation of a furnace isolation valve, it is desirable to install the isolation valve in a vertical position, but this only adds to the complex loads from the down-comer that are supported by the cyclone tangentially, which are considerable, most particularly if incorporating an isolation valve prior to the cyclone.

EP2 125239 describes a single tangential entry cyclone with a classifier inlet and a small particle by-pass arrangement that allows the efficiency of the cyclone to be adjusted during furnace shut downs or during operation to optimise capture of recyclable material whilst passing on contaminants to the wet cleaning system. However, a down-comer applied directly tangentially, may not give enough swirl effect in the cyclone.

US 6610115 describes an axial entry cyclone with internal vanes to provide a swirl effect. However, the large number of vanes with narrow gaps between them can suffer in harsh operating conditions and become blocked, so that they do not operate as effectively as they should.

EP1907125 describes a cyclone separator for a blast furnace gas having a pair of inlet ducts inclined in a downward direction in order to optimise performance.

in accordance with the present invention, a cyclone comprises a cyclone body, a plurality of inlet ducts and an outlet; wherein a first end of each of the inlet ducts is coupled to a downcomer and a second end of each of the inlet ducts is coupled to the cyclone body; wherein an end of the downcomer proximate the cyclone is co-axial with the cyclone body; and wherein each inlet duct exits the downcomer radially and enters the cyclone body tangentially.

This design copes with structural loading from the downeomer, whilst allowing for ease of replacement of parts for maintenance.

Preferably, the first end of the inlet duct has a circular cross section Refractory lining is generally more stable in a circular duct than a rectangular or square duct, as well as eliminating the need for an additional transition between square and circular at the inlet to the isolation valve, which is circular Preferably, the second end of the inlet duct has a rectangular cross section.

This results in a better tangential flow into the cyclone vessel, as the edge of the rectangle aligns entirely with the vertical edge of the cyclone vessel, whereas a circular duct would only align at one point.

Preferably, the cyclone comprises three or more inlet ducts.

This helps to produce a good swirl effect. A cyclone comprising three inlet ducts gives the a particularly good combination of duct size to prevent clogging up and swirl effect.

Although the inlet ducts could be arranged to have any convenient spacing, for example to enable fitting into existing available space, preferably the inlet ducts are spaced equidistant from one another about the cyclone body.

Preferably, the end of the downcomer is mounted to the cyclone body on a support.

Preferably, the outlet duct exits through the support.

Although an isolation valve could be mounted in the downcomer in a conventional way, preferably an isolation valve is mounted in each inlet duct.

This avoids the need for an expansion joint to allow access for maintenance.

An example of a cyclone according to the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 illustrates a blast furnace off gas system with standard side entry cyclone with single entry; Figure 2a is a perspective view of a cyclone according to the present invention, with multiple entries; Figure 2b is a view from above of the cyclone of Fig.2a; Figure 3 illustrates a blast furnace off gas system with the cyclone of Fig.2; Figure 4 is an alternative view of the cyclone of Fig.2; Figures 5a is a partial view of an example of a cyclone according to the present invention with 4 inlet ducts; Figure Sb is a view from above of a cyclone according to the present invention with 4 inlet duets; and, Figures 6a and 6b illustrate examples of conventional horizontal and inclined entry cyclones.

Fig.! illustrates a conventional blast furnace off gas system with standard side entry cyclone. The cyclone 1 has a substantially cylindrical body and further comprises an inlet duet 2 having a region 3 which enters the body 4 tangentially by virtue of bend 5. Gas from a top part 6 of a blast furnace passes into an off-take gas system 7, through a down-corner 8, optionally through an isolation valve 9a, into the cyclone 1 and from the cyclone exits through an outlet 10. With a single entry, it can be difficult to transfer all loads from the off-takes and down-corner with the fitting of t.he isolation valve and expansion joint to the cyclone correctly. Another problem with a side entry to the cyclone is that this limits how close the cyclone is to the furnace. As a result, this may cause issues with retrofitting a cyclone with a side entry to an existing plant. In addition, the cyclone itself may be unevenly loaded with a side entry, so an axial support is preferred.

In the single entry cyclone, the dirty gas from a blast furnace is delivered to a first stage cleaning plant via the down-corner 8 that slopes steeply, often at an angle between 40 and 55 degrees, depending upon site layout. The entry to the cyclone 1 is in the horizontal plane and is rectangular in section. Turning the gas flow into the horizontal plane creates the classifier inlet. In other applications, internal guide vanes may be used, typically in the rectangular section, to improve the flow distribution entering the cyclone.

The problems associated with the conventional single side entry design are addressed in the present invention by providing a cyclone whose top part and connections are as illustrated in Fig.2. The cyclone is cylindrical with a longitudinal axis 21 and is provided with at least two inlet ducts 12, but more typically three or four inlet duets are used in order to promote better gas flow within the cyclone. The examples of Figs.2 and 5 illustrate three and four inlet ducts respectively. In a preferred embodiment, the invention provides a triple entry tangential cyclone. In the present invention, the downcomer 8 is arranged so that an end 20 closest to the cyclone body 4 is substantially co-axial with the cyclone body 4. A support ill is provided between the upper part 22 and the end 20 of the downcomer. An example of the support can be seen in Fig.2a, where the down-comer 8 is provided with structural support, which may be in the form of an enclosure, such as a hemisphere, or truncated cone, or may be another suitable shape, such as a framework of struts, which transfers the loading from the down-comer 8 onto the walls of the cylindrical cyclone body 4. A plurality of cyclone inlet ducts 12a, 12b, 12c are provided between the down-corner 8 and the upper part of the cyclone body 4. The ducts may be tubes or pipes, the cross section of which varies, changing from a circular cross-section at a first end 13 connected to the down-corner 8, to a rectangular cross-section at a second end 14 connected to the cyclone. The tube emerges radially from the down-comer and is rotated to enter the cyclone tangentially. Using this design, with at least three tangential inlets combined with axial support from the cyclone vessel, provides the optimum transfer of structural load for the down-corner 8. Fig.2b illustrates this example as seen from above.

The change from the radial exit 23 of the inlet duct 12 from the downcomer 8 to the tangential entry 24 of the inlet duct to the cyclone body 4 can be clearly seen in this view.

The design enables the load to be concentric with the cyclone vessel. The inlet ducts act as first stage classifier, separating large and fine particles before entering the cyclone. Using these mini classifiers allows the segregation process to start before the gas enters the cyclone. The gas flow in the down-corner is split between t.he inlet ducts and enters the cyclone at 90 degrees to the direction of the flow from the down-comer, The number of inlet duets is not limited to only three and could be more, but three inlets is more stable than using less than three and with three entries this gives a sufficiently wide bore to prevent clogging up of the inlets due to dust or debris, or as a result of environmental conditions in harsh operating environments, as well as allowing a construction whereby the loads are transferred onto the cyclone side walls from above, so avoiding the uneven loading on the cyclone which a conventional single entry pipe suffers from.

Fig.3 illustrates how the revised design of the cyclone is integrated into the off-take gas system 7 and supports the down-comer 8 and optional isolation valve 9a and expansion joint 9b. For health and safety reasons, it is desirable to provide an isolation valve 9a between the down-corner and the cyclone. This may be a single valve 9a in the downcomer itself as shown in Fig.3, or alternatively, an isolation valve (not shown) may be provided in each of the inlet ducts 12a, 12b, 12c. Modifying the relative positions of the downeomer and cyclone body according to the present invention makes the provision of the isolation valve in a vertical position more practical, as the loading is transferred onto the cyclone body, rather than needing to be supported by the bend in a single inlet as in Fig.1. The isolation valve may be a sliding plate valve, or a blanking plate, available to be operated when required. A blanking plate may be inserted, or removed during a fttrnaee shutdown. An expansion joint 9b is also required to be fitted to enable the valve to be removed for maintenance purposes. The advantage of each inlet duct having its own isolation valve fitted, as described above, is that this removes the need for expansion joints to be fitted for valve maintenance removal purposes. A further benefit of mounting the valves in the ducts is that the down-comer loads are independently transferred into the cyclone without the complication of transferring the loads around the isolation valve and expansion joint.

Fig.4 shows the full cyclone with the improved inlet duct arrangement. The down-corner carrying dirty gas in a gas main approaches the cyclone axially, allowing installation of a furnace isolation valve in a vertical position and providing more flexibility in terms of cyclone plant location. The down-comer may be modified to have a larger diameter, for example, with the use of a secondary vessel. Cones 25 in the cyclone perform separation of particles from the gas supply and a long outlet duct 26 which extends into the interior of the cyclone body feeds the cleaned gas back up into the outlet 10. The design has more than two inlet ducts 12a, 12b, lie arranged to enter the cyclone cylinder tangentially. This ensures that the swirl effect is evenly distributed around the cyclone inlet and reduces wear by minimising high velocity areas.

Fig.5 illustrates an example of the present invention with four inlet ducts. In Fig.5a, only two arc shown for clarity, on either side of the cyclone body. As can be seen in the view from above in Fig.5b, the inlet duets 12a, 12b, 12c, lid are spaced about the downcomer 8 and cyclone body 4, substantially equidistant from one another, exiting 23 from the downcomcr radially and entering 24 the cyclone body tangentially.

For comparison, Fig.6a illustrates an example of a conventional cyclone with horizontal entry and Fig.6b illustrates a conventional cyclone with inclined entry.

In summary, the present invention provides a cyclone arrangement comprising a down-corner and a plurality of inlet duets, preferably, three or more inlet duets between the down-corner and the cyclone. Preferably, the cyclone comprises a triple entry tangential cyclone. The inlet ducts enter the cyclone through side walls of the cyclone body and are preferably circumferentially spaced about the cyclone. The downstream end of the down- corner is co-axial with a central axis of the cyclone. The inlet ducts may exit the down-corner radially and enter the cyclone tangentially. The cyclone of the present invention provides structural loading and plant layout advantages associated with an axially orientated cyclone, combined with the advantages of multiple tangential entry, which include ease of replacement of the main wear parts including the external ducts. A further advantage is that removing the ducts, which will be constructed using several flanged joints, means the cyclone can be totally isolated from the iron making unit, which has important safety implications for performing maintenance on the cyclone.

Claims

CLAIMS1. A cyclone comprising a cyclone body, a plurality of inlet ducts and an outlet; wherein a first end of each of the inlet ducts is coupled to a downcomer and a second end of each of the inlet ducts is coupled to the cyclone body; wherein an end of the downcomer proximate the cyclone is co-axial with the cyclone body; and wherein each inlet duct exits the downcomer radially and enters the cyclone body tangentially.
2. A cyclone according to claim 1, wherein the first end of the inlet duct has a circular cross section
3. A cyclone according to claim I or claim 2, wherein the second end of the inlet duct has a rectangular cross section.
4. A cyclone according to any preceding claim, wherein the cyclone comprises three or more inlet ducts.
5. A cyclone according to any preceding claim, wherein the inlet ducts are spaced equidistant from one another about the cyclone body.
6. A cyclone according to any preceding claim, wherein the end of the downcomer is mounted to the cyclone body on a support.
7. A cyclone according to claim 6, wherein the outlet duct exits through the support.
8. A cyclone according to any of claims I to 7, wherein an isolation valve is mounted in each inlet duct.