New model of hydrocyclone

The new Cavex 2 hydrocyclone delivers a boost to separation technology, with its LIG+ advanced laminar spiral inlet and size of the feed chamber, providing excellent performance and 30% more capacity.

This latest generation of cyclones boasts innovative design features, delivering an impressive improvement in volumetric capacity and reduced turbulence – all while occupying a similar footprint as the original Cavex.

The Cavex 2 650 is the new hydrocyclone size to be released in the Cavex 2 product line. The 650 model has undergone years of research, lab testing and in-field testing to ensure it can withstand the rigours of heavy-duty industrial and abrasive applications.

Featuring the advanced performance and design that the cyclone is recognised for, the 650 model addresses the continual demand for increased operational and circuit capacity, and offers customers process improvements combined with digital technology.

Towards a more sustainable mining future

It is important to note that enhancements of the hydrocyclone performance go hand in hand with improving the environmental footprint of the equipment. By reducing bypass returning to the mill, fewer fines are returned back to the mill in closed-circuit milling process, thus reducing the need for energy to be used to further process particles that are already small enough to move on to the next stage. This frees up mill capacity, previously used up with fine particles, for the size reduction of larger particles.

As a hydrocyclone that can make a finer separation, the Cavex 2 650 can operate at a lower pressure for further energy savings or a higher feed density for water savings while maintaining the existing cut size from the hydrocyclone.

And finally, using equipment with a higher volumetric capacity required fewer units to be installed upfront as well as fewer consumable spare parts used over the life of the hydrocyclone.

Advanced benefits

The new model delivers significant benefits to mining customers, including:

Increased operational and circuit capacity up to 30%

Maximised plant recovery by reducing the quantity of misclassified particles with an average improvement of the alpha parameter more than 10%

Improvements in bypass with an average of over 15%

Opportunity to retrofit Cavex 2 650 cyclone into existing cyclone cluster footprints

Less turbulence during the separation process due to the LIG+ inlet and elongated chamber design

Enhanced performance with a Synertrex-enabled monitoring system which can detect roping or blockage conditions in advance for continuous, efficient operation of the hydrocyclone

Improvement of environmental footprint.

Successful trials

The latest Cavex 2 650 hydrocyclone trial with a customer took place in Chile. The testing was conducted in a large copper ore mine which had a SAG mill in a closed circuit with the cyclone cluster. The trial tested one Cavex 2 650 in a 6-place cluster of existing Cavex cyclones and saw an improvement of up to 48.5% in circulating load and 31.7% in water bypass versus the original cluster.

A lab water test with the same hydrocyclone fittings as above also yielded positive results: a 211mm inlet and 260mm vortex finder delivered 16% more capacity at 100 kPa, and 17% more capacity at 250kPa.

These improvements in efficiency and bypass translate to increased savings for brownfield sites where the existing hydrocyclones do not have enough capacity and are maxed out, while greenfield projects benefit from savings in capital expense.

The new hydrocyclone is the second in a range of standard sizes that Weir Minerals is planning to release, with more sizes in development to expand the current product range.