Mist collector for separating drops of liquid from streams of gas for vapor

Claim 1

In a mist collector for separating drops of liquid from a gas or vapor stream and including a cylindrical vertically oriented housing having a cylindrical outer wall and metal fiber webs mounted in an annular configuration in the housing and arranged to be penetrated by the stream in the radial direction of the housing, the improvement wherein: said metal fiber webs comprise a plurality of cylindrical layers spaced apart from one another in the radial direction; said collector comprises stream inlet means and stream outlet means positioned and arranged with respect to said housing and positioned relative to said layers for causing the stream to flow through said layers in a radial inward direction; said housing comprises a base defining one axial end thereof and on which said housing rests when in operation, with the surface of said base which is directed inwardly of said housing comprising a plurality of annular steps descending in the radial outward direction of said housing and formed to guide all liquid thereon downwardly and radially outwardly, and with each said layer being supported on a respective step; the radially outermost one of said layers is separated from the cylindrical wall of said housing by an annular chamber; said stream inlet means comprises a stream inlet located in said base in alignment with said annular chamber and terminating at a level below the lowermost one of said steps; and said stream outlet means comprises a stream outlet located in said base and radially inward of the innermost one of said layers.