---
title: "Cyclone separator"
description: "A cyclone separator removes particulate from a gas stream by centrifugal force: gas enters tangentially at the top of a vertical cylinder, spirals downward, and exits axially at the top through an inner pipe (vortex finder); heavier particles are thrown outward to the wall, slide down the conical bottom, and discharge through the dipleg below."
canonical_url: "https://sylio.co/glossary/cyclone-separator"
last_updated: "2026-06-28T02:29:33.475Z"
---

A **cyclone separator** removes particulate from a gas stream by centrifugal force: gas enters tangentially at the top of a vertical cylinder, spirals downward, and exits axially at the top through an inner pipe (vortex finder); heavier particles are thrown outward to the wall, slide down the conical bottom, and discharge through the [dipleg](/glossary/cyclone-dipleg) below.

## Where cyclones are used

- [CFB boiler](/glossary/cfb-boiler) primary separators — large-diameter, high-temperature
- [Cement preheater cyclones](/glossary/preheater-cyclone) — multi-stage gas-to-meal heat exchange
- Pre-cleaners ahead of [baghouses](/glossary/baghouse) and [ESPs](/glossary/electrostatic-precipitator) — knock out coarse dust to reduce downstream load
- Process gas separation in chemical and refining duty

## Cyclone fouling

- **Wall build-up** — dust accretes on the wall and gradually narrows the gas path; flow re-organises and efficiency drops
- **Dipleg pluggage** — separated material backs up in the dipleg, eventually re-entraining
- **Vortex finder fouling** — alters internal swirl pattern

## Cleaning

[Sonic horns](/glossary/sonic-horn) installed on the cyclone shell or dipleg keep wall deposits from consolidating. On cement preheater cyclones particularly, sonic horns are the standard preventive against the coatings that form under alternative-fuel firing.

## Related terms

- [Multi-cyclone / multiclone](/glossary/multi-cyclone-multiclone)
- [Cyclone dipleg](/glossary/cyclone-dipleg)
- [CFB boiler](/glossary/cfb-boiler)
- [Preheater cyclone](/glossary/preheater-cyclone)
- [Sonic horn](/glossary/sonic-horn)