Cyclone separator having multiple-vaned gas inlets

Claim 1

A cyclone separator for separating suspended solid particles from a gas, comprising i. a cylindrical first shell having an open first end and a second end closed except for an opening designed to accommodate a gas outlet tube; said shell haing a gas inlet in its periphery near its second end, said shell having a gas outlet tube sealably mounted in the opening in the second end of the shell, said outlet tube being coaxial with the shell, extending into the shell past the gas inlet, and separated from the gas inlet; and ii. a second shell of circular periphery having two open ends, the first open end sealably engaging, communicating with, and coextensive with the open first end of the cylindrical first shell, and the second open end being a solids discharge opening located beyond the end of the gas outlet tube that extends into the cylindrical shell, in the direction away from the closed end of the cylindrical shell; wherein the improvement comprises iii. the gas inlet consisting of from 3 to 30 elongated inlet openings circumferentially spaced in the periphery of the cylindrical shell, and disposed axially therein, said inlet openings having a depth which is defined as the shortest distance between the surface of one vane and the surface of another vane, which surfaces restrict gas flow into the separator, each opening having a guide vane positioned to deflect incoming gas away from the gas outlet tube, in a circular path, wherein all guide vanes are of the same length and axial orientation, wherein each guide vane begins at the shell periphery and extends inside the cylindrical shell periphery, and wherein the ratio of inlet opening depth to the radial distance between the outlet tube and the cylindrical shell is in the range 0.1 to 0.7, and the product of this ratio times the number of inlet openings is in the range 1 to 4.5.