Porous media to separate gases liquid droplets and/or solid particles from gases or vapors and coalesce entrained droplets

Claim 1

A gas-vapor treating mat which comprises (a) glass fibers, of about 6.3 millimeters long and below a length at which they are prone to roping and from about 3 to about 12 microns in diameter, intermixed in the range of from about 4 to about 45 parts with (b) from about 5 to about 50 parts of micro-bits of any of an expanded, thermoplastic styrene-polymer, an expanded lower polyolefin selected from polyethylene to poly-methylpentene, and a flexible foamed polyurethane, each said polymer being non-brittle in its initial expanded form; said intermixed glass fibers and polymer micro-bits being held together in sheet or elongated web form and permeable to any of a gaseous and vaporous fluid stream by (c) a binding agent distributed throughout the intermixture of the glass fibers and micro-bits in an amount and manner sufficient to hold them together in the herein noted form and without destroying their permeability, which agent is selected from (i) a compatible organic binder insoluble in cold water and soluble in hot water and inert to the glass fibers, the micro-bits and any other mat constituent as well as to any gas or vapor or entrained droplets or aerosols and fine particles that are to contact the mat and (ii) a cobeat of cotton fibers and any of the micro-bits; whereby the mat has tensile strength from about 0.2 to about 5.3 kilograms per centimeter.