Vacuum System

I can think of scenarios where either choice will be most cost effective and also neither will be sufficient.

Will the vacuum system be more like the system for my carpet cleaner or semiconductor fabrication?

Green polymer additives production plant

Need to know the percentage of solids and the viscosity of the extracted material and the GPM flow of the product stream...In other words what is the expected quantity of solids to be removed...1% more? less?

a little FYI,...

Where I had worked, we tested a few hydrocyclone separators to try to take the load off of our strainers/filters. They are good,... but they should be used in conjunction with a strainer/filter.

a lot has to do with particulate size.

As a strainer is designed to block, I’d be tempted to pursue the other option, Mildred. But you haven’t explained why the plant is being pushed so hard that you get solids carryover, nor why it is different now from when it was first set up. I won’t arrest you for that misdemeanour.

Very hard to say without much more detail about the system and problem. Presumably the strainer (or cyclone) will go in the vacuum line. There might be enough spare capacity in the vacuum system to accept a strainer. If not you might need to uprate the vacuum pump (if that's what you have, there's more than one way to provide vacuum) or modify the pipework etc to reduce losses. There could be several options.

I would go for the cyclone approach. After all look at any sawmill where they use cyclones to separate sawdust and chips from the air in the pollution control system.

They are used in coal plants to separate product from waste in cyclone classifiers.

The manufacturer will be able to provide you with data on CFM m/sec flows and insertion losses as well as particle separation sizes. You should know your flow rate from your design/machine characteristics.

A strainer-filter/separator is a more exact method to control particulate carryover. A cyclone with low gas pressure i.e. vacuum separates according to the density of the particulate compared to the gas, so it could be quite efficient. You need to have a good idea of the size distribution, if all particulate is the same S.G. I suspect you will need another fan or pump to provide the optimum conditions for a workable cyclone. Also, if space to install the equipment is a problem, the filter/separator would be smaller. Examples of other dry processes to clean gas of particulate include electrostatic precipitators and filter bag houses.