Lone Star Steel Company, L.p.

Jennings D Means

Malley R Bass

Thomas K Ewan

Orvis L Holland

James L Frier

A process and apparatus is disclosed for the removal of pollutant material including solid or liquid particulate matter and gaseous pollutants from gas streams in which the gas is driven through a mixing tube by forming a jet of a compressible fluid such as steam or air or the whole or a part of the polluted gas itself. In some instances the jet acts as an ejector to induce flow of the polluted gas into the mixing tube but when all of the polluted gas is formed into a jet it is directed into the mixing tube without any ejector action. A mechanically atomized liquid is introduced into the outer region of the jet of compressible fluid emerging from the nozzle in which the jet is formed. The mechanically atomized liquid is further atomized by the shearing action of the jet to form high velocity droplets which are intimately and turbulently mixed with the pollutant-containing gas and retained in the mixing tube for a sufficient time so that the pollutants become entrained with the water droplets. The turbulent mixture is then directed into a diffuser having an increasing cross-sectional area and deflected as it enters the diffuser away from one portion of the interior surface of the diffuser and toward an opposite portion of the interior surface of the diffuser and also decelerated so as to cause a separation in the flow of the liquid and non-liquid constituents of the mixture. Apparatus is disclosed including a compressible fluid nozzle for forming the jet and a liquid injector, a mixing tube, a diffuser, and fluid and mechanical separating means whereby a separate flow of the particulate material including submicronic sized particulate entrained in liquid droplets is established in the diffuser for removal from the cleaned gas stream. If it is desired to remove reactive gaseous pollutants from a gas stream, appropriate chemical reagents may be added to the injected liquid or directly to the gas stream prior to treatment.

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Gilmer, TX, United States of America

Jennings D Means