Vapor-liquid separating apparatus

Claim 1

A VAPOR-LIQUID SEPARATING APPARATUS COMPRISING A VERTICALLY DISPOSED INTAKE CONDUIT HAVING A LOWER INLET END AND AN UPPER OUTLET END AND COMMUNICATING AT THE LOWER END WITH AN UPFLOWING STREAM CONTAINING A MIXTURE OF VAPOR AND LIQUID, A VERTICALLY EXTENDING FIRST BAFFLE HAVING OPEN UPPER AND LOWER ENDS DISPOSED WITH ITS LOWER END OVERLAPPING AND IN SPACED RELATIONSHIP WITH THE UPPER END OF SAID INTAKE CONDUIT TO DEFINE WITH SAID INTAKE CONDUIT A DOWNFLOW PASSAGEWAY, SAID FIRST BAFFLE DEFINING ABOVE SAID INTAKE CONDUIT A WHIRL CHAMBER IN COMMUNICATION WITH SAID CONDUIT AND SAID DOWNFLOW PASSAGEWAY, MEANS DISPOSED IN SAID INTAKE CONDUIT ADJACENT THE OUTLET THEREOF TO IMPART A CENTRIFUGAL SPIN TO SAID UPFLOWING MIXTURE OF VAPOR AND LIQUID AS SAID MIXTURE DISCHARGES INTO SAID WHIRL CHAMBER, SAID FIRST BAFFLE EXTENDING A SUBSTANTIAL DISTANCE ABOVE SAID INTAKE CONDUIT SO AS TO LATERALLY CONFINE THE FULL FLOW OF SAID MIXTURE FOR A DISTANCE SUFFICIENT TO CAUSE SUBSTANTIAL SEPARATION OF VAPOR AND LIQUID IN SAID WHIRL CHAMBER, THE SEPARATED VAPOR FLOWING UPWARDLY THROUGH SAID WHIRL CHAMBER AND THE SEPARATED LIQUID FLOWING DOWNWARDLY THROUGH SAID DOWNFLOW PASSAGEWAY, A SECOND BAFFLE HAVING OPEN UPPER AND LOWER ENDS ENCOMPASSING AT LEAST IN PART SAID FIRST BAFFLE AND SAID INTAKE CONDUIT AND EXTENDING FROM A POINT BELOW SAID DOWNFLOW PASSAGEWAY UPWARDLY IN SPACED RELATIONSHIP WITH SAID INTAKE CONDUIT AND SAID FIRST BAFFLE TO DEFINE WITH SAID INTAKE CONDUIT A LIQUID PASSAGEWAY AND WITH SAID FIRST BAFFLE A VAPOR PAS-