The nearly unlimited applications and uses of starch for food industry make this natural polymer a unique component; no other constituent can provide consistence and storage stability to such a large variety of foods. Starch can be extracted from agricultural produce through either chemical processes or physical separation. The latter involves the application of centrifugal forces by means of hydrocyclones. A hydrocylcone is a device which separates, through physical methods, two phases of different densities. There are three flows involved: the feed (mixture introduced in the hydrocyclone), the overflow (the least dense part) and the underflow (the densest part). Normally, the underflow part, or commonly known as "heavies", is the desirable part that companies keep, this is, the starch. Despite hydrocyclones are not very expensive devices, current-based hydrocyclones demand high energy rates. This work describes the design and testing of energy-saving hydrocyclones for extracting starch from wheat. Eight prototypes were built and tested at Larsson Mekaniska Verkstad AB (Bromölla, Sweden). This company makes process equipment for the starch industry and was the one with which the author collaborated during the ellaboration of the Degree Project. Six of the eight hydrocyclones were built by Larsson; another was a commercial hydrocyclone and the last one was the one figured out after reading some literature and updates in the hydrocyclones field. The experiments consist of trying the eight hydrocyclones under different conditions, combining concentrations (153 g/L and 237 g/L) and pressures (500 Pa and 700 Pa). The experimental results proved the importance of geometry on hydrocyclone design, and showed the effect of geometrical parameters on the energy-saving properties of cyclones. Four of the eight new models behaved satisfactorily for low energy and high efficiency conditions, obtained with inlet pressures of 500 kPa and starch concentrations of 237 g/L.

<p>The nearly unlimited applications and uses of starch for food industry make this natural polymer a unique component; no other constituent can provide consistence and storage stability to such a large variety of foods. Starch can be extracted from agricultural produce through either chemical processes or physical separation. The latter involves the application of centrifugal forces by means of hydrocyclones. A hydrocylcone is a device which separates, through physical methods, two phases of different densities. There are three flows involved: the feed (mixture introduced in the hydrocyclone), the overflow (the least dense part) and the underflow (the densest part). Normally, the underflow part, or commonly known as "heavies", is the desirable part that companies keep, this is, the starch. Despite hydrocyclones are not very expensive devices, current-based hydrocyclones demand high energy rates. This work describes the design and testing of energy-saving hydrocyclones for extracting starch from wheat. Eight prototypes were built and tested at Larsson Mekaniska Verkstad AB (Bromölla, Sweden). This company makes process equipment for the starch industry and was the one with which the author collaborated during the ellaboration of the Degree Project. Six of the eight hydrocyclones were built by Larsson; another was a commercial hydrocyclone and the last one was the one figured out after reading some literature and updates in the hydrocyclones field. The experiments consist of trying the eight hydrocyclones under different conditions, combining concentrations (153 g/L and 237 g/L) and pressures (500 Pa and 700 Pa). The experimental results proved the importance of geometry on hydrocyclone design, and showed the effect of geometrical parameters on the energy-saving properties of cyclones. Four of the eight new models behaved satisfactorily for low energy and high efficiency conditions, obtained with inlet pressures of 500 kPa and starch concentrations of 237 g/L.</p>

<p> The thickening and classifying characteristics of small size hydrocyclones were investigatedo Test slurries, consisting of mixed cultures of microorganisms in water. were partitioned into two fractions by hydrocyclones ranginq in size from 2 mm to 10 mm body diameter which operated at inlet pressures ranging from 80 to 200 psi and volume splits ranginq from 1.0 to 3.0. </p> <p> The classtfyino response was defined in terms of the relative magnitudes of the specific growth rate of the two fractions as determined by coincident observation of duplicate batch biological reactors each seeded with one portion of the partitioned slurry. </p> <p> The thickening response was defined by the Rietema-Tenbergen separation efficiency. </p> <p> The biokinetic aspects of this investigation are emphasized in this manuscript. </p> / Thesis / Master of Engineering (MEngr)

Thesis (MScEng) -- Stellenbosch University, 1986 / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: High turbulence, high shear forces and high centrifugal forces characterise the flow in hydrocyclones. These characteristics are employed advantageously in the air-sparged hydrocyclone so that a space time of only one second is necessary for effective flotation. Conventional flotation processes on the other hand require a few minutes. Flotation of pyrite from a coarse Witwatersrand ore (100% -300 micron; 92% +38 micron) produces a sulphur recovery of 90% with a sulphur grade of 40% in the concentrate when the content of solids of the slurry feed equals 10%. Higher recoveries up to 93% are possible when slurries with a higher content of solids (e.g. 30%) are used. However, the sulphur grade then decreases to about 35%. Flotation in a batch cell produces a recovery of sulphur of 95% with a sulphur grade of 40%, but in this case a flotation time of 5 minutes is required. A hydrocyclone with a diameter of 50 mm and a length of 410 mm produces optimum results at a slurry feed rate of 35 to 40 l/min and an air-flow rate of 200 l/min. An air-flow rate of about 150 l/min is adequate at slurry feed rates lower than 35 l/min. Flotation of particles finer than 38 micron is more successful at higher slurry feed rates. The optimum flotation of coarse particles (i.e. +106 micron) occurs at lower feed rates. The best flotation results are obtained in the size fraction between 38 and 75 micron, which produces a recovery and content of sulphur of 95% and 51% respectively. A collector concentrate of 160 g/ton, which is thrice the quantity used in conventional processes, is required. The best recoveries at slurry feed rates lower than 35 l/min are obtained when the frother concentrate is low (approximately 20 mg/l). A higher frother concentrate, i.e. between 50 to 60 mg/l, is required at higher feed rates. The air-sparged hydrocyclone may be used effectively for rougher flotation and especially for the flotation of ore finer than 150 micron. The use of a specially designed pedestal can minimize blockage of the underflow. Such a pedestal has been designed and tested successfully. / MINTEK

The principal objectives of the work described in this thesis were: 1. To develop an improved multiphase CFD model for classifying cyclones and further improve understanding of the separation mechanism based on fluid flow and turbulence inside the cyclone. 2. To develop an improved Empirical model of classifying cyclones, covering a wide range of design and operating conditions. The multi-phase CFD model developed in this work is based on the approach reported by Brennan et al (2002) and Brennan (2003) using Fluent, and involves individual models for the air-core, turbulence, and particle classification. Two-phase VOF and mixture models for an air/water system were used to predict the air-core and the pressure and flow fields on 3D fitted fine grids. The turbulence was resolved using both DRSM (QPS) and LES turbulence models. The predicted mean and turbulent flow field from the LES and DRSM turbulence models were compared with the LDA measurements of Hsieh (1988). The LES model predicts the experimental data more accurately than the DRSM model. The standard mixture model (Manninnen et al, 1996) and the modified mixture model for a water/air/solids system were used to predict cyclone performance. The standard mixture model was able to predict classification efficiency reasonably at low solids concentrations, but under-predicts the recovery of coarse size fractions to underflow. To improve the predictions at moderate to high feed solids, the author modified the slip velocity with additional Bagnold dispersive forces, Saffman lift forces, and a hindered settling correction for particle drag in the mixture model superimposed on an LES turbulence model. Several cyclone geometries were used for validating the multiphase CFD model. The modified mixture model improves prediction of the separation of coarse size particles, and the predicted closely matches the experimental in various cyclones. The particle classification mechanism has been further elucidated using the simulated particle concentration distributions. At high solids concentrations, the modified CFD model predicts the efficiency curve reasonably well, especially the cut-size of the cyclone, but prediction of fine particle recovery to overflow is poor compared to the experimental data. It appears that the fines are significantly affected by turbulent dispersion and the flow resistance due to the high viscosity of the slurry at the apex is not sufficiently accounted for in the modified Mixture model. The improved multi-phase CFD model was validated against two sets of experimental data available in the literature: particle concentrations measured by gamma ray tomography data in a dense medium cyclone (Subramanian, 2002), and particle size distribution inside a hydrocyclone (Renner, 1976). Large eddy simulation (LES) with the modified Mixture model, including medium with a feed size distribution appears to be promising in predicting medium segregation inside a dense medium cyclone. The CFD predicted sample size distributions at different positions are reasonably comparable with Renner’s (1976) experimental data near the wall and in the bottom cone, but differ considerably near the forced vortex region, and also near the tip of the vortex finder wall. The CFD model shows no air-core formation at the low operating pressure used by Renner, which suggests his experiments involved an unusual/unstable forced vortex based cyclone separation. The effect of turbulence on fluid and solid particle motion was also studied in this thesis. The resolved turbulent fluctuations from LES of the hydrocyclone at steady flow were analysed using ensemble averaging. The ratio of the effective turbulent acceleration of each particle size to the centrifugal acceleration was calculated for various cyclones, which showed that turbulent mixing becomes less important with larger particles. The trends in this ratio correlate with the equilibrium positions of the particles from the multiphase LES. The analysis indicates that the short-circuiting might be aggravated by turbulent mixing across the locus of zero vertical velocity (LZVV) against the classification force, and along the vortex finder wall into the inner upflow region of the cyclone. An experimental study of the “fish-hook” effect was pursued in various industrial scale cyclones to evaluate the effect of various cyclone parameters. The observed diameter at which fine particle recovery starts to increase is mainly affected by feed solids content and spigot diameter, but less influenced by feed pressure. The observed particle recovery to the underflow at the fishhook dip size, the bypass, is always higher than the underflow water split. Any cyclone variable that affects the underflow water split, will also affect the bypass value. CFD studies showing high particle Reynolds numbers for coarse particles were used to provide a qualitative mechanism for fines reporting to the underflow in the wakes behind the larger particles (Tang et all. 1992). The Frachon and Cilliers (1999) model was used to fit and evaluate the fishhook parameters. The variations of these fishhook parameters were quantified for changes in cyclone design and operating conditions. The development of an improved empirical hydrocyclone model was attempted by collecting extensive historical data covering a wide range of cyclones. Additional experiments on 10 and 20 inch Krebs cyclones were performed to fill the gaps in the database, especially at low to moderate feed solids concentration and with different cone sections. Tangential velocity, turbulent diffusion, slurry viscosity and particle hindered settling correlations were identified from CFD as the key inputs to the particle classification mechanism for the empirical model. A new cyclone model structure based on a dimensionless approach has been developed. The model for , , Q gives a very good fit to the data, while the model for separation sharpness gave reasonable correlations with the cyclone design and operating conditions. 208 additional data sets were used to validate the new hydrocyclone model.

Submitted by Lucienne Costa (lucienneferreira@ufcg.edu.br) on 2018-03-23T18:34:30Z No. of bitstreams: 1 DANIEL CESAR DE MACEDO CAVALCANTE – TESE (PPGEP) 2017.pdf: 5981753 bytes, checksum: 7cb1bc84364b7e8874a0a5bd64ac28f9 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-03-23T18:34:30Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 DANIEL CESAR DE MACEDO CAVALCANTE – TESE (PPGEP) 2017.pdf: 5981753 bytes, checksum: 7cb1bc84364b7e8874a0a5bd64ac28f9 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-08-24 / Capes / Os hidrociclones convencionais são equipamentos versáteis, devido a elevada capacidade de processamento, baixo custo de manutenção. Vários são os estudos que visam alterar a estrutura típica do hidrociclone convencional de modo alterar seu desempenho e objetivo. Assim surgiu os hidrociclones filtrantes no qual se diferencia do hidrociclone convencional pela substituição da parede cônica ou cilíndrica por uma membrana porosa. Durante o funcionamento desse separador, além das correntes tradicionalmente observadas (alimentação, underflow e overflow), há uma corrente líquida proveniente do processo de filtração, normalmente denominado filtrado. O presente trabalho propõe estudar hidrociclones filtrantes baseados no trabalho de Façanha (2012), a partir do estudo numérico do processo de separação água/partícula sólida realizado com auxílio do “software” comercial ANSYS CFX® Release 15.0. O modelo matemático usado considera escoamento tridimensional, turbulento, estacionário, baseado na abordagem Euleriana-Euleriana e modelo de turbulência SST “Shear Stress Transport”. Foram avaliados estudos da dinâmica do escoamento, Efeito da porosidade, efeito da permeabilidade e efeito da matriz porosa. Os resultados demonstram que a vazão do filtrado é menor em relação as outras saídas, altera o escoamento no interior do hidrociclone filtrante tanto em relação a porosidade, permeabilidade e efeito da posição do meio filtrante. O aumento da porosidade e permeabilidade alterou a distribuição de pressão, razão do líquido e eficiência total no interior do hidrociclo cilíndrico filtrante. / Conventional hydrocyclones are versatile equipment due to high processing capacity and low maintenance costs. Several studies are aimed at changing the typical structure of conventional hydrocyclone in order to alter its performance and purpose. In this way the hydrocyclones filtering in which it differs from the conventional hydrocyclone by the replacement of the conical or cylindrical wall by a porous membrane. During the operation of this separator, in addition to the traditionally observed currents (feed, underflow and overflow), there is a liquid stream coming from the filtration process, usually called filtrate. The present work proposes to study filtering hydrocyclones based on the work of Façanha (2012), based on the numerical study of the water / solid particle separation process performed with the commercial software ANSYS CFX® Release 15.0. The mathematical model used considers three-dimensional, turbulent, stationary flow, based on the Eulerian-Eulerian approach and SST turbulence model "Shear Stress Transport". Studies of flow dynamics, porosity effect, permeability effect and porous matrix effect were evaluated. The results show that the flow rate of the filtrate is lower in relation to the other outlets, it changes the flow inside the filter hydrocyclone in relation to the porosity, permeability and effect of the position of the filter medium. The increase in porosity and permeability altered the pressure distribution, liquid ratio and total efficiency inside the filter cylindrical hydrocyclones.

There is significant worldwide environmental concern related to the transportation of Invasive Aquatic Species (IAS) by ships ballast water into non-native environments. This has given rise to the development of a vast array of technological ballast water treatment systems. The complex environmental challenges and tight operational characteristics of marine vessels limits the scope of the technologies used for Ballast Water Treatment (BWT). As a result few technologies have progressed beyond the research and development stage; however one of the most promising technologies for ship board use is the cyclonic separator, or hydrocyclone. Despite the use of hydrocyclones in a wide variety of engineering applications they have yet to be successfully adapted towards the removal of suspended sediment and marine organisms from large volumes of ballast water. The following primary objectives of this study have been met: • Via critical review identify the technological solutions for treating ballast water best suited to onboard use. • Define the critical flow regimes evident within hydrocyclonic separators. • Establish a series of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations, evaluating standard turbulence models in order to determine the capacity for commercial CFD to model hydrocyclonic flow. This study has detailed the operational characteristics of ballast water hydrocyclones with the aim of enabling hydrocyclones to be optimised for individual ship configurations. Flow simulations have been conducted using CFD, and in particular the Detached Eddy Simulation (DES) turbulence model. Finally the DES model is shown to be a legitimate turbulence model for hydrocyclonic flow regimes, validated against empirical and experimental data.

Orientadores: Ranulfo Monte Alegre, Mauro de Paula Moreira / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Engenharia de Alimentos / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-08T03:48:09Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Andrade_VivianTavaresde_M.pdf: 509667 bytes, checksum: c01614971b8549f57b3ad1b82a597e93 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2007 / Resumo: Neste trabalho foram construídos cinco tipos de hidrociclones, seguindo as geometrias recomendadas por Rietema (1961) e Bradley (1965), para avaliação da eficiência de separação de óleo emulsionado em água. O objetivo foi maximizar a eficiência do hidrociclone como prédepurador de águas residuárias. Emulsões de óleo em água e soluções com partículas de carvão e Sacaromyces cerevisiae foram mantidas num tanque de alimentação com agitador mecânico, para completa homogeneização das emulsões e suspensões. Os hidrociclones foram alimentados por meio de uma bomba centrífuga. Um dos hidrociclones tinha uma parte cônica no topo, sem a presença do tubo inserido na parte cilíndrica (CM1). Em um segundo modelo (CM2) foi introduzido uma rosca sem fim com onze passos, na parte cilíndrica do hidrociclone para aumentar o tempo de residência das partículas no campo centrífugo. O hidrociclone (CM3) foi diferenciado do CM2 pela inserção de um tubo cilíndrico na parte central. O hidrociclone (CM4) foi diferenciado do modelo de Bradley pela inserção de uma rosca sem fim. Também foi construído um hidrociclone modelo de Bradley para fins de comparação. Amostras foram coletadas na alimentação, underflow e overflow para posterior determinação da concentração de óleo emulsionado em água. O método de DQO, conforme descrito no Standard Methods, foi usado na determinação da concentração de óleo, usando uma curva padrão. A eficiência global do hidrociclone de Bradley foi maior que dos modelos CM1 e CM2, entretanto a eficiência global de separação desses hidrociclones operando sob condições de reciclo foi significativamente maior que em modo contínuo. O hidrociclone CM2 apresentou maior eficiência que o modelo CM1. O hidrociclone CM3 não apresentou diferença significativa de eficiência global em relação ao modelo tradicional de Bradley, apresentando eficiência global semelhante à do hidrociclone CM2 operando em sistema de reciclo, portanto em relação ao CM2, o hidrociclone CM3 foi um pouco mais eficiente. A eficiência global do hidrociclone CM4 foi semelhante à apresentada pelo hidrociclone de Bradley. Os hidrociclones estudados não foram eficientes para a concentração de células de Saccharomyces cerevisiae e nem na separação de finas partículas de carvão / Abstract: In this work five different hydrocyclones were constructed based on geometry recommended by Rietema (1961) and Bradley (1965), for evaluation of the efficiency to separate emulsified oil from water. Its aim was to maximize the hydrocyclone efficiency as wastewater pre-depurator. Oil-in-water emulsions and solutions with particles of coal and Sacaromyces cerevisiae in water were maintained in a agitate tank to ensure the complete homogenization of the emulsions and solutions. The hydrocyclones were feed through a centrifugal pump. One of the hydrocyclones has two conical parts and one cylindrical part (CM1). In a second model a static screw with eleven threads was inserted in the cylindrical part of the hydrocyclone to increase the course of the particles in the centrifugal field (CM2). The hydrociclone (CM3) was differentiated of CM2 for the insertion of a tube in its central part. The hydrocyclone (CM4) was constructed from Bradley model hydrocyclone for the insertion of a static screw with six threads. Also it was constructed a Bradley model for ends of comparisons. Samples of the water-oil emulsion were collected at the feed, underflow and overflow to determined the oil concentration. The COD test, as recommended by Standard Methods, was used to determine the oil concentration, after the sample dilution. The overall efficiency of separation oil of the Bradley model hydrocyclone was better than the hydrocyclones CM1 and CM2, therefore the overall efficiency of separation of these hydrocyclones operating in recycle was significantly higher than without recycle, under same operating conditions. The CM2 model had overall efficiency higher than the CM1 model. No higher significant difference was found with the increase of the power pump, as well as no higher significant difference of overall efficiency was found between CM3 and Bradley model hydrocyclones. The hydrocyclones studied cannot efficiently separate Sacaromyces cerevisiae or coal powder from water with high efficiencies / Mestrado / Mestre em Engenharia de Alimentos

Na agricultura irrigada, a qualidade da água utilizada é de fundamental importância para o perfeito funcionamento dos sistemas de irrigação e de seus componentes. A utilização de água contendo sedimentos em suspensão tem sido a causa de sérios problemas em sistemas de irrigação, reduzindo a vida útil de seus componentes, promovendo o entupimento de tubulações e emissores, ocasionando como conseqüência, irrigações não uniformes e queda na eficiência dos mesmos. A escolha do tipo e capacidade do sistema de filtragem é de fundamental importância, evitando-se assim, aumento nos custos de operação e manutenção do sistema de irrigação, devido a necessidade de limpeza e trocas freqüentes de seus componentes. Pré-filtros, como os hidrociclones, desempenham importante papel, pois se caracterizam por significativo poder de separação de partículas, maiores do que 100 mm, presentes na água; mantendo constante a perda de carga ao longo do tempo, o que não ocorre com os outros tipos de filtros normalmente utilizados nos sistemas de irrigação. Apesar de algumas referências feitas aos hidrociclones em literatura internacional, não se dispõe, no Brasil, de dados do desempenho dos hidrociclones, quando empregados em pré-filtragem da água utilizada nos sistemas de irrigação. Assim, um experimento conduzido no Laboratório de Hidráulica do Departamento de Engenharia Rural da ESALQ/USP, compreendeu a construção de quatro hidrociclones do tipo Rietema, com diâmetro de 50 mm, um com bocal de alimentação circular e os demais com bocais de seção retangular, cujas seções foram decrescentes. A avaliação do desempenho dos mesmos foi realizada utilizando-se suspensões de areia fina e solo argiloso, sob diferentes diferenciais de pressão, adotando-se como critério de comparação, a capacidade de vazão e o poder de separação, medido pela eficiência total e eficiência total reduzida. Os resultados obtidos mostraram que o hidrociclone dotado com bocal de alimentação circular apresentou os maiores índices nos critérios de comparação, tanto para a suspensão de areia, quanto para a de solo. / Good water quality is uppermost in irrigated agriculture for the perfect functioning of irrigation systems and their components. The use of water containing suspended sediments has caused serious problems to irrigation systems, reducing the useful life of their components, clogging pipes and emitters, consequently causing non-uniform irrigations and low efficiency. Choosing the right filtering system type and capacity is essential to avoid increases in operational and maintenance costs of irrigation systems due to the need for cleaning and frequent replacing of their components. Pre-filters, such as hydrocyclones, are important for their significant capability to retain particles larger than 100 mm present in water, keeping the head loss constant with the time, unlike other filters normally used in irrigation systems. Despite being present in the international literature, data on the performance of hydrocyclones used for pre-filtering irrigation water in Brazil are not available. Therefore, four Rietema type hydrocyclones (50 mm diameter) were construction in the Hydraulics Laboratory of the Rural Engineering Department - ESALQ/USP- one presenting circular-end feeding tube and the other three presenting rectangular-end feeding tubes with decreasing sections. The evaluation of the hydrocyclones performance was conducted by using suspensions of fine sand and clay soil under various pressure differentials. The comparison criteria used were the discharge and the separation capability, given by total efficiency and reduced total efficiency. Results showed that the hydrocyclone with circular-end feeding tube presented the highest indexes for the comparison criteria adopted, considering sand and soil suspensions.

Na agricultura irrigada, a qualidade da água utilizada é de fundamental importância para o perfeito funcionamento dos sistemas de irrigação e de seus componentes. A utilização de água contendo sedimentos em suspensão tem sido a causa de sérios problemas em sistemas de irrigação, reduzindo a vida útil de seus componentes, promovendo o entupimento de tubulações e emissores, ocasionando como conseqüência, irrigações não uniformes e queda na eficiência dos mesmos. A escolha do tipo e capacidade do sistema de filtragem é de fundamental importância, evitando-se assim, aumento nos custos de operação e manutenção do sistema de irrigação, devido a necessidade de limpeza e trocas freqüentes de seus componentes. Pré-filtros, como os hidrociclones, desempenham importante papel, pois se caracterizam por significativo poder de separação de partículas, maiores do que 100 mm, presentes na água; mantendo constante a perda de carga ao longo do tempo, o que não ocorre com os outros tipos de filtros normalmente utilizados nos sistemas de irrigação. Apesar de algumas referências feitas aos hidrociclones em literatura internacional, não se dispõe, no Brasil, de dados do desempenho dos hidrociclones, quando empregados em pré-filtragem da água utilizada nos sistemas de irrigação. Assim, um experimento conduzido no Laboratório de Hidráulica do Departamento de Engenharia Rural da ESALQ/USP, compreendeu a construção de quatro hidrociclones do tipo Rietema, com diâmetro de 50 mm, um com bocal de alimentação circular e os demais com bocais de seção retangular, cujas seções foram decrescentes. A avaliação do desempenho dos mesmos foi realizada utilizando-se suspensões de areia fina e solo argiloso, sob diferentes diferenciais de pressão, adotando-se como critério de comparação, a capacidade de vazão e o poder de separação, medido pela eficiência total e eficiência total reduzida. Os resultados obtidos mostraram que o hidrociclone dotado com bocal de alimentação circular apresentou os maiores índices nos critérios de comparação, tanto para a suspensão de areia, quanto para a de solo. / Good water quality is uppermost in irrigated agriculture for the perfect functioning of irrigation systems and their components. The use of water containing suspended sediments has caused serious problems to irrigation systems, reducing the useful life of their components, clogging pipes and emitters, consequently causing non-uniform irrigations and low efficiency. Choosing the right filtering system type and capacity is essential to avoid increases in operational and maintenance costs of irrigation systems due to the need for cleaning and frequent replacing of their components. Pre-filters, such as hydrocyclones, are important for their significant capability to retain particles larger than 100 mm present in water, keeping the head loss constant with the time, unlike other filters normally used in irrigation systems. Despite being present in the international literature, data on the performance of hydrocyclones used for pre-filtering irrigation water in Brazil are not available. Therefore, four Rietema type hydrocyclones (50 mm diameter) were construction in the Hydraulics Laboratory of the Rural Engineering Department – ESALQ/USP- one presenting circular-end feeding tube and the other three presenting rectangular-end feeding tubes with decreasing sections. The evaluation of the hydrocyclones performance was conducted by using suspensions of fine sand and clay soil under various pressure differentials. The comparison criteria used were the discharge and the separation capability, given by total efficiency and reduced total efficiency. Results showed that the hydrocyclone with circular-end feeding tube presented the highest indexes for the comparison criteria adopted, considering sand and soil suspensions.