Cyclone separator

Abstract

A cyclone separator for separating at least two phases of a fluid, with a base housing through which the fluid can flow in an essentially helical pattern, that has a separation chamber with an upper and a lower end, wherein the upper and lower end each respectively have a wall, and a central axis that extends between the two ends, and furthermore a central separation tube arranged inside the conical separation chamber, concentric to the central axis of the base housing, with an essentially cylindrical wall having a surface facing toward the inner cross-section with a first surface profile, and a surface facing away from the inner cross-section with a second surface profile. The base housing has at its upper end a header section with an inner radius and with at least one essentially tangentially attached inlet opening for the fluid, as well as at least one light fraction outlet opening with a cross-section and, at its lower end, at least one expansion chamber and at least one heavy fraction outlet opening. The separation chamber tapers conically in the direction of the lower end at least incrementally in sections, preferably with a constant cone angle α.

Claims

1. A cyclone separator for separating at least two phases of a fluid, the cyclone separator comprising a base housing through which the fluid can flow in a helical pattern and having a conical separation chamber with an upper end and a lower end, wherein the upper end and lower end each respectively have a wall, and a central axis that extends through the base housing and between the two ends of the conical separation chamber, and furthermore a central separation tube arranged inside the conical separation chamber, extending between the two ends of the conical separation chamber, continuous in its length, and concentric to the central axis, with a cylindrical wall having a surface facing an inner cross-section with a first surface profile and a surface facing away from the inner cross-section with a second surface profile, wherein the base housing has, at the upper end, a head section with an inner radius and with at least one tangentially attached inlet opening for the fluid, as well as at least one light fraction outlet opening with a cross-section, and at the lower end, at least one expansion chamber and at least one heavy fraction outlet opening, wherein the separation chamber tapers conically, at least in sections, along the central axis in the direction of the lower end, with a constant cone angle α relative to the central axis, wherein at the transition between the separation chamber and the expansion chamber, a stabilizer is provided for the purposes of stabilizing the central separation tube and controlling the flow of the light fraction, and wherein the stabilizer has a first annular stabilizer wall and a second annular stabilizer wall that is concentric with the first annular stabilizer wall, each annular stabilizer wall having a surface facing toward the inner cross-section and a surface facing away from the inner cross-section, wherein both annular stabilizer walls are arranged in a plane and wherein the first and/or the second annular stabilizer wall has fins with a fin angle δ, wherein the stabilizer is detachably connected to the base housing on the inner side of the base housing of the lower end, and the first annular stabilizer wall is locked at least with a section of a central pin on a base of the expansion chamber, the central pin being arranged concentrically relative to the central axis in order to receive the central separation tube, and wherein the first annular stabilizer wall has the fins on the surface facing away from the inner cross-section and the second annular stabilizer wall has the fins on the surface facing toward the inner cross-section, wherein the fins of the first annular stabilizer wall do not touch the second annular stabilizer wall and the fins of the second annular stabilizer wall do not touch the first annular stabilizer wall.

2. The cyclone separator according to claim 1, wherein the cone angle α is between approx. 0.1 and 5°.

3. The cyclone separator according to claim 1, wherein a gap is provided between the central separation tube and the wall of the lower end.

4. The cyclone separator according to claim 1, wherein the wall of the central separation tube has radial circumferential perforations in the region of the lower half of the base housing.

5. The cyclone separator according to claim 4, wherein the perforations are straight line-shaped, zigzag-shaped, serpentine-shaped, arc-shaped, helical, meander-shaped, dot-shaped, ring-shaped, oval, rectangular, square, trapezoidal, star-shaped, crescent-shaped, triangular, pentagonal and/or hexagonal and/or are hybrid forms of the aforementioned shapes.

6. The cyclone separator according to claim 4, wherein the perforation area of the wall of the central separation tube is between approx. 50 and 1000% relative to the cross-section of the light fraction outlet.

7. The cyclone separator according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the first surface profile or the second surface profile of the cylindrical wall of the central separation tube is wave-shaped, step-shaped or ramp-shaped, and/or hybrid forms of the aforementioned surface profiles.

8. The cyclone separator according to claim 1, wherein the central separation tube is detachably connected to the light fraction outlet opening of the head section.

9. The cyclone separator according to claim 1, wherein the central pin extends at least up to the height of the lower end of the central separation tube.

10. The cyclone separator according to claim 1, wherein the expansion chamber is detachably connected to the lower end of the conical separation chamber.

11. The cyclone separator according to claim 1, wherein the fins of the first wall and the fins of the second wall are rotatably mounted.

12. The cyclone separator according to claim 1, wherein the fin angle δ is between approx. 5 and 90°.

13. The cyclone separator according to claim 1, wherein the stabilizer is replaceable.

14. The cyclone separator according to claim 1, wherein the base housing, the expansion chamber and the stabilizer are produced, at least in part, from an abrasion-stable material that is selected from a group consisting of hard rubber, polyamide, fiber-reinforced polyamide, polyethylene, polypropylene, polyoxymethylene, polyethylene terephthalate, fiber-reinforced polyethylene terephthalate, polyether ether ketone, polytetrafluoroethylene, polyvinylidene fluoride, ethylene-chlorotrifluoroethylene, perfluoro alkoxyalkane copolymer, tetrafluoroethylene-hexafluoropropylene, tetrafluoroethylene-perfluoro-methylvinylether, steel, stainless steel, aluminum and/or mixtures of the same.

15. The cyclone separator according to claim 1, wherein the central separation tube is made of a highly stable and/or abrasion-resistant material, steel, stainless steel, aluminum, magnesium, fiber-reinforced polyamide, fiber-reinforced polyethylene terephthalate, polyether ether ketone, polyetherimide, polyphenylene sulfide and/or mixtures of the same.

16. The cyclone separator according to claim 1, wherein the cyclone separator is constructed from several parts.

17. The cyclone separator according to claim 1 adapted to generate centrifugal forces in a fluid within a range of acceleration between 200 m/s2 and 3000 m/s2.

18. A method of using a cyclone separator, comprising: selecting the cyclone separator according to claim 1; and utilizing the cyclone separator to separate at least two phases of a fluid.

19. The cyclone separator according to claim 1, wherein the separation chamber tapers conically from the head section to the expansion chamber along the central axis at the constant cone angle α.

20. A cyclone separator for separating at least two phases of a fluid, the cyclone separator comprising: a base housing through which the fluid can flow in a helical pattern and having a conical separation chamber with an upper end and a lower end, wherein the upper end and lower end each respectively have a wall, and a central axis that extends through the base housing and between the two ends of the conical separation chamber; a central separation tube arranged inside the conical separation chamber, extending between the two ends of the conical separation chamber, continuous in its length, and concentric to the central axis, with a cylindrical wall having a surface facing an inner cross-section with a first surface profile and a surface facing away from the inner cross-section with a second surface profile; wherein the base housing has, at the upper end, a head section with an inner radius and with at least one tangentially attached inlet opening for the fluid, as well as at least one light fraction outlet opening with a cross-section, and at the lower end, at least one expansion chamber and at least one heavy fraction outlet opening, wherein the separation chamber tapers conically, at least in sections, along the central axis in the direction of the lower end, with a constant cone angle α relative to the central axis; wherein at the transition between the separation chamber and the expansion chamber, a stabilizer is provided for the purposes of stabilizing the central separation tube and controlling the flow of the light fraction, and wherein the stabilizer has a first annular stabilizer wall and a second annular stabilizer wall that is concentric with the first annular stabilizer wall, each annular stabilizer wall having a surface facing toward the inner cross-section and a surface facing away from the inner cross-section, wherein both annular stabilizer walls are arranged in a plane and wherein the first and/or the second annular stabilizer wall has fins with a fin angle δ, wherein the stabilizer is detachably connected to the base housing on the inner side of the base housing of the lower end, and the first annular stabilizer wall is locked at least with a section of a central pin on a base of the expansion chamber, the central pin being arranged concentrically relative to the central axis in order to receive the central separation tube; wherein the first annular stabilizer wall has the fins on the surface facing away from the inner cross-section and the second annular stabilizer wall has the fins on the surface facing toward the inner cross-section; and wherein a flow guide element extending concentrically around the central separation tube is provided on the inner wall of the base housing at the upper end of the cyclone separator, with a curved semi-circular inner wall area of the flow guide element that is concave in sections, in relation to the inner volume of the lateral radius r formed by the flow guide element, said flow guide element having a helical section that is directly connected to the inlet opening.

21. The cyclone separator according to claim 20, wherein the helical section has a slope angle β that is between approx. 3 and 23°.

22. The cyclone separator according to claim 20, wherein the helical, section has a radial angle of inclination γ that is approx. +1-15°.

23. The cyclone separator according to claim 20, wherein the ratio between the lateral radius r of the flow guide element and the inner radius of the head section is between approx. 0.04 and 1.00.

24. A cyclone separator for separating at least two phases of a fluid, the cyclone separator comprising: a base housing through which the fluid can flow in a helical pattern and having a conical separation chamber with an upper end and a lower end, wherein the upper end and lower end each respectively have a wall, and a central axis that extends through the base housing and between the two ends of the conical separation chamber; a central separation tube arranged inside the conical separation chamber, extending between the two ends of the conical separation chamber, continuous in its length, and concentric to the central axis, with a cylindrical wall having a surface facing an inner cross-section with a first surface profile and a surface facing away from the inner cross-section with a second surface profile; wherein the base housing has, at the upper end, a head section with an inner radius and with at least one tangentially attached inlet opening for the fluid, as well as at least one light fraction outlet opening with a cross-section, and at the lower end, at least one expansion chamber and at least one heavy fraction outlet opening, wherein the separation chamber tapers conically, at least in sections, along the central axis in the direction of the lower end, with a constant cone angle α relative to the central axis; wherein at the transition between the separation chamber and the expansion chamber, a stabilizer is provided for the purposes of stabilizing the central separation tube and controlling the flow of the light fraction, and wherein the stabilizer has a first annular stabilizer wall and a second annular stabilizer wall that is concentric with the first annular stabilizer wall, each annular stabilizer wall having a surface facing toward the inner cross-section and a surface facing away from the inner cross-section, wherein both annular stabilizer walls are arranged in a plane and wherein the first and/or the second annular stabilizer wall has fins with a fin angle δ, wherein the stabilizer is detachably connected to the base housing on the inner side of the base housing of the lower end, and the first annular stabilizer wall is locked at least with a section of a central pin on a base of the expansion chamber, the central pin being arranged concentrically relative to the central axis in order to receive the central separation tube; wherein the first annular stabilizer wall has the fins on the surface facing away from the inner cross-section and the second annular stabilizer wall has the fins on the surface facing toward the inner cross-section; and wherein guide elements designed to displace the fins along a circular arc movement path are provided onto which the fins of the first wall and the fins of the second wall are mounted.

25. The cyclone separator according to claim 24, wherein the guide elements are guide rails and wherein the fins are rotatably mounted on the guide rails about a rotational axis perpendicular to the movement path.

Description

(1) The invention is explained below with reference to preferred exemplary embodiments, whereby it is noted that variations and/or extensions such as are directly evident to the skilled person can also be applied to these examples. Moreover, these exemplary embodiments do not represent any limitation of the invention to the effect that variations and extensions lie within the scope of the present invention.

(2) They show:

(3) FIGS. 1 to 5: a top view and two side views of a preferred embodiment of a cyclone separator, as well as a cross-section through the base housing of a cyclone separator according to the invention in FIG. 2 and FIG. 4;

(4) FIG. 6: an enlarged section of a cross-section through the lower end of the separation chamber in FIG. 3;

(5) FIG. 7: an exploded drawing of a modularly constructed cyclone separator according to the invention;

(6) FIG. 8: a cross-section through the base housing of the cyclone separator with a cone angle α according to the invention;

(7) FIGS. 9 to 14: a top view of the bottom side, a side view thereof, three radial longitudinal sections, one with an inclination angle γ (FIG. 13), and one detail view (F) of the longitudinal section in FIG. 11 with a side radius r (FIG. 12), as well as another longitudinal section with a vertical sectional plane (H-H) of a helical section of the flow guide element and view of the vertical longitudinal section belonging thereto with a slope angle β (FIG. 14) of a preferred embodiment of a head section of a cyclone separator with flow guide element according to the invention;

(8) FIGS. 15 to 17: two top views with fin angle δ (FIG. 15) and tangential sectional plane (FIG. 16) as well as a tangential longitudinal section (FIG. 17) through a first preferred embodiment of an inventive stabilizer for the cyclone separator according to the invention;

(9) FIGS. 18 to 20: a perspective view and a top view, as well as a tangential longitudinal section through a second preferred embodiment of an inventive stabilizer for the cyclone separator according to the invention;

(10) FIG. 21: a schematic illustration of the separation principle during use of the cyclone separator according to the invention;

(11) FIG. 22: a three-stage cascade connection diagram of the cyclone separator according to the invention based on a preferred embodiment for use of the cyclone separator in industrial treatment of wastewater contaminated with microplastic particles (wastewater treatment plant);

(12) FIGS. 23 to 28: the volume flows and the microplastic loads as a function of inlet pressure and fin angle δ of the stabilizer of a prototype of the cyclone separator according to the invention.

(13) FIGS. 1 to 5 show a top view in FIG. 1, and a side view in FIGS. 2 and 4 of a preferred embodiment of a cyclone separator, as well as a cross-section through the base housing 2 of a cyclone separator according to the invention in FIG. 2 and FIG. 4. FIGS. 1, 2 and 4 show the base housing 2 with inlet opening 7, head section 6, central separation tube 5, central axis 4, light fraction outlet opening 8 (FIG. 21), heavy fraction outlet opening 10. It is apparent that the connections for the inlet opening 7 and light fraction outlet opening 8 are located on the head section 6. FIGS. 3 and 4 show, in addition to the elements in FIGS. 1, 2 and 4, the separation chamber 3 with upper and lower end, the head section 6 with flow guide element 13 (FIGS. 11, 13, 14), the expansion chamber 9, the central separation tube 5 with perforations 12 in the shape of straight lines, and the wall of the lower end of the separation chamber 3. The central separation tube 5 is flanged inside the head section 6. The conical separation chamber 3 is flanged to the head section 6 (with inlet opening 7) by means of a clamp (not shown here). Also apparent is the central pin 14 and the stabilizer 15 with fins (not shown in FIGS. 1-5; see fins 16 in FIGS. 15-20) arranged around the central pin 14. The expansion chamber 9 is flanged onto the lower end of the separation chamber 3 with a clamp (not shown).

(14) FIG. 6 discloses an enlarged section of a cross-section through the lower end of the separation chamber 3 in FIG. 3. The expansion chamber 9, delimited by the central pin 14, is apparent. The stabilizer 15 is arranged around the central pin 14 and is clamped into the base housing 2 via a radially extending perforation on the inner side of the base housing 2 of the lower end, and is thereby detachably connected, and the first wall of the stabilizer 15 is clamped in with a section of the central pin 14 of the expansion chamber 9 and locked in place thereby. A gap 11 is provided between the central separation tube 5 and the wall of the lower end of the separation chamber 3.

(15) The exemplary embodiment according to FIG. 7 shows an exploded drawing of a cyclone separator according to the invention. It can be seen that the cyclone separator is constructed from individual components in a modular manner. A stabilizer equipped with fins can be clamped in at the transition from the conical separation chamber to the expansion chamber.

(16) FIGS. 9 to 14 show a top view of the bottom side in FIG. 9 and a side view in FIG. 10, as well as a radial longitudinal section in FIG. 11, a detail view (F) from FIG. 11 with side radius r in FIG. 12, as well as a longitudinal section in FIG. 13 with inclination angle γ, and a radial longitudinal section in FIG. 14 with a drawn-in sectional plane (H-H) and illustrated view of the vertical longitudinal section with slope angle β of a preferred embodiment of a head section of a cyclone separator with flow guide element according to the invention.

(17) FIGS. 15 to 17 show a top view with fin angle δ in FIG. 15, and a top view with illustrated tangential sectional plane (A-A) in FIG. 16, as well as a tangential longitudinal section in FIG. 16 through a first preferred embodiment of an inventive stabilizer for the cyclone separator according to the invention. It is apparent that the fins of the first and second wall touch, thereby forming bridge connections.

(18) FIGS. 18 to 20 show a perspective view in FIG. 18, and a top view in FIG. 19, as well as a tangential longitudinal section in FIG. 20 through a second preferred embodiment of an inventive stabilizer for the cyclone separator according to the invention. It is apparent that the fins of the first and second wall essentially do not touch.

(19) FIG. 21 shows a schematic illustration of the general separation principle during use of a preferred embodiment of the cyclone separator with continuous central separation tube according to the invention. The introduced multiphase fluid arrives via the inlet opening into the upper end of the separation chamber in the head section. After the radial introduction of the fluid into the cone, which tapers with a constant cone angle α in the downward direction, the fluid assumes a rotational motion. Due to gravitation and displacement, the fluid now moves in circular paths in the direction of the cone apex. There the light phase of the fluid is drawn off centrally in the region of the separation zone through the perforations of the central separation tube. As a result of the artificially generated centrifugal forces and the flow reversal in the cyclone separators according to the invention, particles with a heavier specific weight than the main medium of the fluid (heavy secondary phase) are pressed against the inner wall of the separation chamber, whereby the particles of the fluid with a lighter specific weight (light secondary phase) agglomerate in the center. This effect can be exploited by controlling the volume flow, so, that either the heavy particles (heavy secondary phase) are separated out through the heavy fraction outlet opening located at the lower end, whereby the main medium is separated out through the light fraction outlet opening, or the light particles (light secondary phase) are separated out through the light fraction outlet opening located at the upper end and the heavy main medium is separated out accordingly through the heavy fraction outlet opening.

(20) During preliminary work involving extensive simulations taking into account various boundary conditions, the potential of the cyclone separator according to the invention, on the one hand as a functional turbomachine, and on the other hand as a separation apparatus, was analyzed and evaluated (in the present case, based on the example of water contaminated with microplastic). Tests performed in the course of this work showed that a single cyclone separator should be capable of processing volumetric flow rates between 500 l/min and 700 l/min. On analyzing the results, this design size was revealed to be advantageous, whereby the centrifugal forces lie in the magnitude between 200 m/s.sup.2 and 3000 m/s.sup.2, preferably between 500 m/s.sup.2 and 2500 m/s.sup.2, especially preferably between 700 m/s.sup.2 and 2000 m/s.sup.2 and in particular between 900 m/s.sup.2 and 1750 m/s.sup.2.

(21) To verify the theoretical results of the separation simulations performed during the previous development work, a prototype of the cyclone separator according to the invention was designed using the SLS rapid prototyping process at a scale of 1:4.4 and produced from fiber-reinforced polyamide, then operated and evaluated at a laboratory scale. Under ideal conditions, CFD simulations of the separation efficiency of the 1:4.4 prototype showed that a separation efficiency of approx. 30% could be expected at an operating pressure of 2.5 bar. The prototype was operated as a closed circuit with a 30-liter supply. To achieve the intended maximum pressure of 2.5 bar at the inlet, which is sufficient for evaluating the separation principle, two centrifugal pumps each with a power of 800 W and a capacity of 60 l/min at 0 meters pump head were installed in-line. The inlet pressure as well as the outlet pressures to and from the prototype of the cyclone separator according to the invention were manually adjusted by means of ball valves. The volume flows of the light and heavy fraction were gravimetrically determined and with it, the respective volume flow at the inlet. The microplastic separation efficiency was also gravimetrically evaluated by means of microfiltration of the light and heavy fraction volume flows. The separation efficiency was evaluated by changing the variables of inlet pressure, and the fin angle δ of the stabilizer used. As a microplastic reference, an HDPE powder from the Pallmann company with an average particle size of <500 μm was used. As a reference substance, this powder most closely represents, in terms of particle size and material density, the contamination likely to be found in the future processes. HDPE, which has a density very close to that of water, is considered within the scope of the evaluation as the most difficult particle class to remove. The test parameters of the test series performed were: Inlet pressure: 1 bar; 1.6 bar; 2.5 bar Feed rate: 21 l/min-33 l/min Fin angle δ of the stabilizer: 32.5°; 45°; 57.5°; 70° Microplastic load: 0.1 g/l-1.0 g/I Microplastic particles: HDPE/˜0.96 g/cm.sup.3/Average size<500 μm

(22) The tests were planned and performed by means of statistical test planning and evaluation on the basis of the Umetrics Modde 10.1 program. FIGS. 23 to 28 show the results of the test as a contour plot diagram. These are based on full factorial test plans and an MLR fit of the test results. In them, the inlet pressure is shown on the x-axis and the fin angle δ of the used stabilizer on the y-axis. Depending on the figure, the various shaded areas indicate either the volumetric flow rate value in l/min, or the microplastic load in the light fraction and heavy fraction respectively in %. FIG. 23 shows the feed rate values in l/min, FIG. 24 shows the light fraction volume values in l/min, FIG. 25 shows the heavy fraction volume vales in l/min, FIG. 26 shows the light fraction load in %, FIG. 27 shows the heavy fraction load in % with applied inlet pressures of 1-2.5 bar, and FIG. 28 shows the heavy fraction load in % with high applied inlet pressures up to 7 bar. The test results show that it is advantageously possible, using an inlet pressure of just 1.0 bar with a resultant volumetric flow rate of ˜21 l/min, and the 32.5° stabilizer, to reduce the microplastic load in the heavy fraction by ˜16%. When the inlet pressure is increased to 2.5 bar and therefore the flow rate is increased by 50% to ˜33 l/min, and using the 32.5° stabilizer, an advantageous reduction by ˜23% of the microplastic load in the heavy fraction is achieved. At the same time, it is evident from all the test points that increasing the fin angle δ from 32.5° to 70° generally has the effect of reducing the microplastic separation efficiency in the heavy fraction. Conversely, this implies that a larger fin angle δ would have the effect of increasing the efficiency when separating particles with a density greater than that of water. The test results as a whole showed that the separation ability of the prototype installation, based on the 23% achieved to-date, is only ˜7% less than the results of the CFD simulations in an ideal system. Considering the fact that the application used during prototype testing does not, by far, correspond to the boundary conditions of the idealized simulation, the achieved separation efficiency exceeds initial expectations. When the separation efficiency is extrapolated to an inlet pressure of 7 bar using the created MLR model (FIG. 28, bottom right), this gives a separation efficiency of 50%. This value, the so-called X50, which is defined as that particle size of which 50% is separated out, can be used to highlight the efficiency of the cyclone separator according to the invention as compared to conventional cyclone separators. This comparison gives a separation efficiency for the cyclone separator, which, measured at the X50 value, exceeds by a factor of 56 that of a comparable conventional cyclone separator.

(23) The formula that serves as the basis for this calculation is as follows:

(24) $X_{50}={\left[\frac{18\pi }{16L}*\eta *\frac{\left(1-R_R\right)}{{\stackrel{.}{V}}_I*\left({\rho }_P-{\rho }_{H_{2}O}\right)}\right]}^{0.5}*{\left[\frac{2.3*D_{\mathrm{LF}}}{D_C}\right]}^{0.8}*\frac{D_E^2}{0.45}$

(25) wherein:

(26) TABLE-US-00001 Length of separation cone L = 0.280 m Kinematic viscosity of water [25° C./6 bar] η = 89.3 × 10-8 m.sup.2s.sup.−1 Ratio of light fraction in feed RR = 0.57 Volumetric flow rate of feed V.sub.I = 0.00122 m.sup.3/s Particle density (HDPE) ρ.sub.P = 960.000 kg/m.sup.3 Fluid density (water) [25° C./6 bar] ρ.sub.H20 = 997.000 kg/m.sup.3 LF outlet diameter D.sub.LF = 0.006 m Separation cone diameter D.sub.C = 0.016 m Inlet diameter D.sub.LF = 0.012 m

(27) Surprisingly, this shows that the innovative separation principle of the cyclone separator according to the invention harbors potential previously unachieved in the prior art. On extrapolating the results to the 1:1 scale, another significant increase in efficiency can be expected, since the boundary conditions of the cyclone separator can be better matched to the idealized conditions of the simulation.

(28) The exemplary embodiment according to FIG. 22 shows a three-stage cascade connection diagram for use of the cyclone separator according to the invention in the industrial treatment of waste waters contaminated with microplastic particles (wastewater treatment plant). It shows: =Control valve =Shutoff valve =Pump

(29) By treating contaminated wastewater and process water by means of the cyclone separator according to the invention, the microplastic load of the total volume flow is moved into the light fraction volume flow. Since, this still amounts to approx. 30% of the total volume flow in a single-stage process, this represents a significant light fraction requiring treatment, especially in larger systems. To reduce this quantity and simultaneously increase the microplastic concentration of the final reject fraction, the process engineering sequence of the overall process should be designed as a fully closed cascade. This principle can be identically extended to industrial process water applications. In this case, the wastewater and/or process water to be treated is fed into the cyclone separators according to the invention from an associated buffer tank by means of banks of high-performance centrifugal pumps connected in parallel. The cleaned fraction obtained from the first stage, which contains only 1%-3% of the initial microplastic concentration, can then be fed into the industrial process water, a chemical cleaning stage, or the outlet channel (surface water or ocean) in wastewater treatment plant applications. Further cleaning is performed in this case via the illustrated full cascade, in which the respective light fractions are fed into the next stage, and the respective heavy fractions are returned to the previous stage. This results, by the third stage, in a concentration of the microplastics and a concurrent reduction in the volume flow. This process is regulated and controlled in a fully automated manner via an integrated process control system (e.g. Siemens PCS 7). As such, only minimal external support, control, inspection and maintenance is needed from personnel. In particular, the ease of maintenance and inspection of the cyclone separator advantageously makes it possible for the cyclone separator to be installed and maintained by a single person, with minimal need for tools and minimal prior knowledge. After microplastic separation, the subsequent process step is to dispose of the microplastic using the options available to the respective wastewater treatment plant or respective industrial company. Almost all wastewater treatment plants these days are equipped with sludge desiccation stages to reduce the volume of the sludge produced; and almost all paper industry companies are equipped with reject presses. The reject fraction of the process, which contains the maximum concentration of microplastics, should be fed into either the sludge or paper industry reject stream before these desiccation stages. This enables the sludge or reject stream to serve as a filter medium during desiccation, and thereby retain the microplastics in the filter cake. Since the filtrate of these desiccation stages is returned to the wastewater treatment or process water, there is no risk that the microplastics will be released again through this process.