This paper presents the performance evaluation results of a cyclone packed with granules in the gas outlet and cone. The results showed that a cyclone packed with granules in the gas outlet enhances significantly the particle collection of all sizes at 10 lpm. However, at 30 and 50 lpm, the granules increase only the collection efficiency of small particles, but decrease the collection of large particles to a small extent. In addition, the collection efficiency is higher with 2 mm granules than with 4 mm granules. The enhancement of collection efficiency, with granules in the gas outlet, was much more significant than with granules in the cone. Subsequently, this study showed that the granular cyclone could be used as a particle collector especially for small particles with low flow rate. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.