Horizontally disposed cylindrical fiber bed separator for separation of aerosols from gases

Claim 1

A fiber bed separator for removal of a liquid from a moving gas stream as a liquid phase comprising a vessel with inlet means for the gas stream, at least one cylindrical fiber bed element, each of said at least one cylindrical element being stationarily disposed within said vessel with its longitudinal axis at an angle of from about 0° to 30° from the horizontal, outlet means for the gas stream, and baffle means causing the gas stream to flow, in each of said at least one cylindrical element, into the hereinafter defined hollow core thereof and thence through the hereinafter defined fiber beds contained therein; each of said at least one cylindrical element comprising sequentially in the design direction of gas flow a first fiber bed and a second fiber bed; (a) said first fiber bed being a not-matting bed of randomly distributed fibers having a mean fiber diameter of at least about 5 microns and packed to a substantially uniform bed voidage of from about 85% to 98% around the outer circumference of a cylindrical screen, said mean fiber diameter and said bed voidage being selected such that at design bed velocity and liquid loading said first fiber bed will not flood with collected liquid phase and the residual saturation of said first fiber bed against gas phase drag of the liquid phase is less than the residual saturation of said first fiber bed against gravity drainage of the liquid phase; (b) said second fiber bed being a non-matting bed of randomly distributed fibers packed to a bed voidage of from about 85% to 99%, said second fiber bed encircling said first fiber bed in substantially intimate fiber to fiber contact with each other, and the mean fiber diameter and voidage of said second fiber bed being selected such that the residual saturation of said second fiber bed against gas phase drag of the liquid phase is greater than the residual saturation thereof against gravity drainage of the liquid phase, whereby the collected liquid phase is caused to drain by gravity flow through said second fiber bed or at the interface between said first fiber bed and said second fiber bed; said first fiber bed and said second fiber bed encircling said cylindrical screen forming a cylindrical fiber bed element having said hollow core.