A centrifugal air cleaning system broadly comprises an insert cartridge including a housing, an inlet, one or more flow guides, a stator, a compression nozzle, an expansion nozzle, and an outlet. The flow guides guide air flowing into the inlet past the stator into the compression nozzle. The stator induces a rotational vortex into the air flow. Air with heavier particles in the air flow is urged to the outside of the rotational vortex. Air with lighter particles and cleaner air is urged to the inside of the rotational vortex. The compression nozzle and the expansion nozzle are aligned to cooperatively form an annular exhaust channel. The air with the heavier particles flows through the annular exhaust channel and the air with the lighter particles and the cleaner air flows to the expansion nozzle to the outlet.