Hydrodynamic Study of the Water/Oil Separation Process in a Hydrocyclone: Modeling and Simulation

Hydrocyclones are equipment that offer various advantages and have been the subject of studying for many researches related to separation processes of gas-solid, solid-liquid, and liquid-liquid mixtures. The purpose of this work is to study the oil-water separation process in a hydrocyclone by Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). Results of the pressure, velocity and volume fraction fields inside the device are presented and analyzed. It was possible to conclude that the proposed mathematical model was able to predict separation performance and the three-dimensional behavior of the phases flow analyzed (water/oil) in the hydrocyclone.