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Cyclone Shapes for Sand and Microplastic Separation: Efficiency and Reynolds Number Relationships
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This study compared three cyclone separator designs for their ability to separate microplastics from beach sand, finding that a cone-shaped design achieved near-perfect efficiency for denser plastic types but lower efficiency for lightweight Styrofoam. Cyclone-based separation offers a promising mechanical approach for cleaning microplastics from coastal sediments at scale.
In this study, three geometries were analyzed for sand and microplastic separation to confirm the applicability of cyclones. This research aimed to apply plastic-based samples such as Styrofoam, PET, PP, and PU to an analytical model, characterized by separating sand spread on Korean beaches into different outlets using a cyclone model. Regarding the numerical analysis, the results of sand particle separation were analyzed by designing a general cyclone (Type A), a cone-shaped cyclone (Type B), and a cone-shaped cyclone (Type C) with double the cone length, for four microplastics in three shapes. The results of the analysis of the characteristics showed that Type B, which has a conical shape, achieved an efficiency of 99.3–100% for sand, 72.7% for Styrofoam, and 95.7–100% for other plastics at an exit speed of 5–7 m/s, after which the efficiency decreased as the speed increased. Type C showed an efficiency of 92.2–100% for sand, 66.6–70.8% for Styrofoam, and 61% for PET at 5–10 m/s. Type C showed a maximum efficiency of 95.5% for PP and 73.4% for PU at 11 m/s. As the speed increased, the efficiency decreased. This is believed to be due to differences in the Reynolds number range, which helps separate particles depending on their shape; therefore, the applicability of the cone-shaped cyclone separator for sand and microplastic separation was confirmed, and it was found that an optimal speed condition exists in relation to the Reynolds number.
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Researchers used mathematical modeling and computational fluid dynamics to simulate how hydrocyclones — conical centrifugal separation devices — can separate microplastics from water. The study found that separation efficiency was incomplete under various conditions, but the approach has potential for microplastic removal at scale.
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This numerical study modeled the separation of microplastics from water using cyclone separators, optimizing design parameters and flow conditions to improve removal efficiency across different particle sizes and densities.
Fluid Flow and Structural Analysis for the Design of Portable Microplastic Collection System
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Researchers evaluated the separation performance of four cyclone system designs for a portable microplastic collection device, testing their ability to separate microplastic particles of 10, 50, and 100 µm from sand under fluid flow conditions. They found that a single-chamber internal structure achieved the highest separation efficiency, with improved performance for particles larger than 50 µm, and that structural analysis confirmed safety factors exceeding 1.5 for all integrated components.
Fluid Flow and Structural Analysis for the Design of Portable Microplastic Collection System
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Researchers evaluated the separation performance of four cyclone system designs for a portable microplastic collection device, testing their ability to separate microplastic particles of 10, 50, and 100 µm from sand under fluid flow conditions. They found that a single-chamber internal structure achieved the highest separation efficiency, with improved performance for particles larger than 50 µm, and that structural analysis confirmed safety factors exceeding 1.5 for all integrated components.
Effect of hydrocyclone design in microplastics-water separation by using computational fluid dynamics simulations
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Researchers used computer fluid dynamics simulations to test and optimize the design of hydrocyclones — spinning funnel-shaped devices that use centrifugal force to separate particles from water — for removing microplastics, finding an optimized geometry that achieved 76% microplastic recovery. The results show that carefully tuning the proportions of a hydrocyclone's components can significantly improve its ability to filter microplastics from water at scale.
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