Evaluating centrifugal hydrocyclones for filtration in agroecological drip irrigation systems

Efficient water management is a key requirement for the sustainability of modern agroecological systems, particularly in drip irrigation networks where emitter clogging caused by suspended solids remains a critical problem. Centrifugal hydrocyclones represent an energy-efficient and low-maintenance pre-filtration technology that separates solid particles from irrigation water without using filter media. However, the optimization of hydrocyclone design for small-scale irrigation applications requires a comprehensive understanding of internal hydrodynamics and particle behavior. In this study, a novel high-efficiency centrifugal hydrocyclone was developed and compared with a conventional design using three-dimensional CFD simulations in COMSOL Multiphysics 6.1. The <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <mml:msup> <mml:mrow> <mml:mi>v</mml:mi> </mml:mrow> <mml:mrow> <mml:mn>2</mml:mn> </mml:mrow> </mml:msup> <mml:mo>-</mml:mo> <mml:mi>f</mml:mi> </mml:math> turbulence model was employed to accurately resolve near-wall effects and capture the vortex-core dynamics, while the motion of suspended particles was simulated using a Lagrangian particle-tracking approach. The numerical results reveal that the proposed design improves the separation efficiency by up to 71 % compared to the classical configuration, with only a marginal increase (≈ 3 %) in pressure drop. The enhanced flow symmetry and stabilized vortex structure in the new hydrocyclone contribute to more uniform velocity and pressure distributions. These findings demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed model in improving water quality and operational reliability of drip irrigation systems, offering practical implications for sustainable water management in agroecological applications.