Excellent Sustainability Through Knitted Wire Mesh Droplet Separators
Important components of exhaust air systems, such as pumps and fans, should be protected from sticky, caking or aggressive media if possible. With droplet separators, it can be prevented that such undesirable residues accumulate in the components or damage them. Due to the high degree of separation achieved by droplet separators made of knitted wire mesh, their areas of application are as wide as such separators can be fine-meshed. The areas of application range from the petrochemical industry to mechanical and plant engineering and the pharmaceutical industry.
And there is another advantage: Separated liquids can be partially recovered. With horizontal flow, the droplets run down through the knitted fabric. The separated medium can be discharged in a controlled manner through a condensate drain installed at the point of use. The recovered liquid can thus be treated – depending on the intended use – and returned to the original process. Frequent replenishment of process fluids is thus greatly reduced. The effect of sustainability and environmental protection can therefore hardly be underestimated.
Knitted wire meshes are not only suitable for separating droplets, but can also be used as insulators, flame arresters, silencers, fillers and protection against vandalism. Above all, their use can protect personnel from harmful substances in the exhaust air. Also, the use of separators offers a solid possibility to comply with legally defined standard values of the emitted exhaust air. A further sustainability effect is that in all applications, a droplet separator does not require any energy supply for its function.
What Kind Of Droplet Separators Are Available?
The differences between the individual separators are defined by their packing density (i.e. how densely the separator is knitted) as well as the wire thickness and the material, which is usually made of stainless steel or plastic. In most cases, the separators are made round or square – but even other shapes are possible. Separators are adapted to the process so that the highest possible degree of separation is achieved. Only then is a housing designed and manufactured, adapted to the corresponding model and the customer’s connections.
In any case, as Lorenzo Parrinello writes in the trade journal ‘CAV‘, the aim is to achieve a flow-friendly design. The complete solution is usually flanged, screwed or clamped directly into an exhaust air duct, for example, as a closed unit. Whether the flow direction is horizontal or vertical is irrelevant in the design of the housing, at least for the droplet separator. In addition, it is possible to equip housings with spray nozzles that enable the built-in droplet separator to be cleaned so that they also achieve a long service life.
