Filtration of liquid aerosols with a horizontal fibrous filter

The aim of this study was to determine the filtration efficiency and pressure drop in liquid aerosol capture mechanisms using a fibrous coalescent filter. The experimental set-up was designed to measure filtration efficiency and pressure drop through the filter. To avoid the gravimetric effect, the filter was placed horizontally. A series of experiments highlighted the importance of operating conditions such as filtration velocity and aerosol concentration. The results demonstrated the advantage of working at high velocities to minimise the resistance of the medium and to enhance the mass efficiency of the coalescent filter. In parallel, no effect of aerosol concentrations in the pressure drop increase was noted. (C) 2008 The Institution of Chemical Engineers. Published by Elsevier B.V All rights reserved.