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Reprinted from
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July 2011 Exchangers
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Hydrometallurgy

Absorbents
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Facts at Your Fingertips:

Gas-Liquid Mixing

Page 28

Focus on
Valves and Actuators

Liquid-Gas
Coalescers

Inspecting
Fractionation Towers

High-Purity
Piping
 Feature Report
Engineering Practice

Liquid -Gas Coalescers:

Demystifying Performance Ratings
Before selecting a coalescer, it’s important
to understand how they work and how they are rated

Thomas H. Wines, Scott Whitney and Ali Arshad

Pall Corporation

E
ngineers working in the chemical not take into account many of the fac-
process industries (CPI) some- tors associated with how a liquid-gas
times have to deal with aerosol coalescer operates. The ANSI/CAGI
contamination issues in which test is a marked improvement oper-
liquid-gas coalescers are routinely ating under oil-saturated conditions,
employed. For example, liquid-gas co- with a poly disperse inlet particle size
alescers are used to protect compres- distribution. The LASE test takes the
sors, liquid-gas contactors, turbines, evaluation to a further degree by in-
low-NOx burners, metering and in- creasing the “challenge” load (inlet
strumentation stations, and for many concentration) to > 1,000 ppm, and
other applications. also taking into account the annular
Choosing the right coalescer type velocity and using a full flow sampler
can be a confusing task as many of to eliminate any side stream bias.
the equipment-supplier claims can be
difficult to understand without more Coalescer basics
background information on how the As mentioned above, there are a num-
products are rated. This article sup- ber of methods that have been applied
plies this information and explains to evaluating liquid-gas coalescers in
how the commonly used rating pro- a laboratory setting. In order to un-
cedures can affect the performance derstand how the test procedures af-
claims output. fect the performance ratings, it is first
For evaluating a coalescer efficiency necessary to have an understanding of
rating, it is important to have the test how liquid coalescers operate.
procedure specified and consider the
different test options, as they will Vertical liquid-gas coalescers Figure 1. Shown here is a typical
affect the rating. Furthermore, the Figure 1 depicts a vertical high-effi- high-efficiency, liquid-gas coalescer
same coalescer can give different per- ciency liquid-gas coalescer system.
formance ratings depending on the Inlet gas with liquid aerosol con- the coalescer cartridge is that the gas
test method used. tamination enters at the bottom of velocity can be more easily adjusted
This article compares the differ- the housing into a first-stage knock- in the annulus by selecting the opti-
ent test methods commonly used to out section. Here any slugs or large mum housing diameter to prevent re-
rate liquid-gas coalescers, includ- droplets (> 300 µm) are removed by entrainment of coalesced droplets.
ing the DOP [1], sodium chloride [2], gravitational settling. The gas then Four steps have been identified with
ANSI/CAGI [3] and the liquid aerosol travels upward through a tube sheet the mechanism of the formation and
separation efficiency (LASE) test [4]. and flows radially from the inside of removal of droplets in the coalescer
A review of how vertical liquid-gas the cartridges through the coalescer medium:
coalescers operate is also presented, medium to the annulus. The inlet 1) Capture
including key model features of media aerosol distribution ranges from 0.1 2) Coalescing
velocity and annular velocity as they to 300 µm, and after passing through 3) Release
pertain to test conditions. the coalescer medium, is transformed 4) Drainage and separation from media
Both the DOP and the sodium chlo- into enlarged coalesced droplets rang- The formation of the coalesced drop-
ride methods provide information only ing from 0.5 to 2.2 mm. The advantage lets first involves the capture of the
on the media capture efficiency and do of flowing from the inside to outside of small aerosols onto the fibers of the co-
 Treated
Maximum media velocity

Where: rate divided by the annulus area:

Sg = gas specific gravity
Untreated vann = Qa/Aann (3)
rair,stp = density of air at standard
temperature and pressure Where Aann is the cross-sectional
rg = density of gas at system conditions annular area defined as the cross-
The media velocity is not the actual sectional area of the housing without
velocity through the open pores of the coalescers minus the area of the co-
Inlet aerosol concentration media, but rather an average by con- alescer end-caps:
vention over the combined pore area
Figure 2. This graph shows the effect Aann = πRh2 – NπRc2 (4)
of surface treatment and liquid loading and solid matrix area in the spatial
on media velocity plane normal to the flow direction. Where:
The maximum media velocity for a Rh = radius of the housing
alescer medium. The actual coalescing coalescer construction is related to Rc = radius of coalescer end-cap
or merging of the fine droplets is be- a number of factors intrinsic to the N = number of coalescers
lieved to take place on the fibers, and particular coalescer design and to the The enlarged droplets leaving the
especially at fiber intersections. The physical properties of the system. coalescer media pack can be assumed
coalesced droplets are then released Effect of system conditions on to be as large as possible for the
from the fiber due to the drag force media velocity. The ability of the co- given flow conditions when complete
of the gas flow exceeding the adsorp- alescer medium to perform effectively coalescence has occurred. Therefore,
tion energy. This process is repeated will also depend on the system envi- the coalesced droplet diameter will
through the depth of the coalescer ronment. While different coalescer be the same for any specific design
medium until the coalescing process constructions will exhibit quantitative of the coalescer cartridge as long
is completed and the largest possible, differences, they will follow the same as complete coalescence has been
stable droplet size is achieved. Dur- qualitative behavior. The media veloc- achieved. If complete coalescence is
ing the coalescing stages, the growing ity has been determined to depend on not achieved, the calculation of the
droplets are also draining downward system parameters such as inlet aero- coalesced droplets must take into ac-
inside the media pack due to the force sol concentration, aerosol density, gas count the degree of coalescence.
of gravity. density and gas viscosity. An analysis In most industrial applications, the
Surface treatment. One way to im- of how the inlet liquid-aerosol concen- coalesced droplets will range in size
prove the draining of the coalesced tration affects the maximum media from 0.5 to 2.2 mm and will be mostly
liquid drops in the medium is to apply velocity is presented in Figure 2 for influenced by the interfacial tension,
a surface treatment that changes the surface treated and untreated co- which is significantly affected by the
medium’s wetting properties by low- alescer media. liquid-gas types, liquid density, sys-
ering the overall surface energy. This At low aerosol concentrations, the tem temperature and system pres-
ensures that both oil and aqueous maximum media velocity is constant sure. As the pressure is increased, the
drops will not wet the surfaces and and is unaffected by aerosol levels. gas density will increase, while the
hence will have lower liquid-fiber at- Under these conditions, the media liquid density is only slightly affected.
traction forces, thereby allowing bet- is limited by the capture mecha- The solubility of the gas in the liquid
ter drainage. nism and is not affected by drain- is enhanced with increasing pressure.
age. At higher levels of aerosol con- This leads to a substantial decrease
Modeling the vertical coalescer centration, the coalescer medium in interfacial tension with increasing
The modeling of the vertical liquid-gas becomes limited by drainage and is pressure and consequently to signifi-
coalescer system can be divided into inversely proportional to the aero- cantly smaller coalesced droplets at
two basic aspects for performance: sol concentration. The effect of the the higher pressures.
media velocity and annular velocity. surface treatment on this process is Once the coalesced droplet size has
Media velocity. The media velocity to enhance the drainage and allow been estimated, the next step is to de-
(vmed) is defined as the actual flowrate for higher maximum media veloci- termine the maximum annular veloc-
divided by the coalescer filter area: ties under the same aerosol loading ity that can be sustained without re-
when limited by drainage. The plot of entrainment. In general, the coalesced
vmed = Qa/NAmed (1)
the surface-treated coalescer media droplets will produce Reynolds num-
Where: is based on an increase in drainage bers (Re) outside of the creeping flow
Qa = actual system flowrate (at sys- ability of about threefold. The effect regime (< 0.1) and Stokes law. Instead,
tem conditions) of the increased drainage of the sur- a force balance is used between the
N = number of coalescers face treatment is to extend the con- liquid droplets settling by gravity and
Amed = media area for one coalescer stant portion of the plot and raise the the drag force of the gas flowing up-
Qa is obtained from the standard sys- drainage limited curve to three times ward in the opposite direction.
tem flowrate, Qs: the untreated value. As the gas leaves the coalescer car-
Annular velocity. The annular veloc- tridge and travels upward in the an-
Qa= QsSgrair,stp/rg (2)
ity (vann) is defined as the actual flow- nulus, it contributes to the total flow,
 Figure 3a Figure 3b

Engineering Practice

thereby increasing the annular veloc- Figure 3. Surface

treatment of the media V
ity. The annular velocity is modeled C
reduces the coalesced
as a linear function with vertical dis- droplets present in the
tance, and the annular velocity is zero annulus above the drain-
at the bottom of the cartridge and in- age point at the bottom-
creases to a maximum value at the top third of the coalescer car-
V
of the cartridge. tridge. As a result, treated C
coalescers (a) can have
Once the coalesced droplets are annular velocities greater
formed, they immediately drain ver- than the critical value for
tically downward in the coalescer-me- re-entrainment, whereas
dium pack. As a direct consequence of this is not the case for un-
treated coalescers.
the treatment, the coalesced droplets
are shielded from the upward gas flow
in the annulus in most of the length of
the coalescer cartridge. The coalesced
droplets are first exposed to the an-
nular gas flow when they appear on
the external face of the coalescer me- Surface Untreated
dium pack at the bottom third of the treated coalescer coalescer
coalescer cartridge (Figure 3a). Once
the coalesced droplets are released to of the cartridge height where liquids significantly higher than the criti-
the annular space they are subjected are present. cal value since there are no coalesced
to the force of the upward flowing gas. Determination of minimum hous- droplets present in the annulus except
The trajectory of the coalesced drop- ing diameter. The housing diameter in the bottom third of the cartridge.
lets is modeled on a force balance be- is determined from the area of the The maximum annular velocity is now
tween gravity settling and the drag annulus and the area of the coalescer determined, with ka = 3.1, as follows:
force created by the gas flow past the end-caps. The maximum annular
Surface treated coalescer:
droplets. This analysis leads to the velocity at the top of the coalescer
vann (max) = 3.1vc (7)
calculation of a critical annular veloc- cartridges is used to determine the
ity for re-entrainment (vc). annular area required. The value of Convincing evidence for the en-
The use of a surface treatment on the maximum annular velocity [vann hanced maximum annular velocity
high-performance vertical liquid-gas (max)], at the top of the coalescer car- given by Equation (5) has been dem-
coalescer cartridge systems has been tridges is dependent on the critical an- onstrated by laboratory tests [6, 7,
proven to significantly enhance perfor- nular velocity for re-entrainment (vc) 8] and is presented in Figure 3. Vi-
mance by allowing higher flowrates or and the vertical location at which the sual observations during these tests
smaller housing diameters compared coalesced droplets are present in the also confirm that liquids are present
to untreated coalescers [5]. free annulus space. This relationship on the outside of the coalescer pack
Due to the surface treatment, there can be described as follows: only at the bottom third for the sur-
are minimal coalesced droplets pres- face treated coalescer and are present
vann (max) = kavc (5)
ent in the annulus above the drain- throughout the length of the wetted
age point at the bottom third of the where ka is the annular velocity en- untreated coalescer.
coalescer cartridge. For a coalescer hancement factor due to drainage.
cartridge that is not specially sur- For the untreated coalescer me- Laboratory
face treated, the coalesced liquids are dium, the coalescer cartridge is com- test procedures
present throughout the length of the pletely wetted and coalesced droplets A description of laboratory methods
coalescer in the annulus space, and are present in the annulus space up that have been reported by a number
the critical annular velocity for re-en- to the top of the annulus where the of gas-filter and coalescer manufactur-
trainment is given for the top of the annular velocity is highest. There is ers and their relevance to actual field
element (Figure 3b). For the treated no drainage enhancement, and ka = 1. operation is provided below.
coalescer, it is allowable to have an- The maximum annular velocity to pre-
nular velocities greater than the crit- vent re-entrainment is then equal to DOP test
ical value for re-entrainment in the the critical value for re-entrainment: An organic liquid, dioctyl phthalate
portion of the annulus space where (DOP), is first vaporized by heating
Untreated coalescer:
there are no liquids present. This per- and then cooled down, allowing the
vann (max) = vc (6)
mits the maximum annular velocity DOP to condense and create a nearly
at the top of the coalescer cartridge to The effect of the surface treatment mono-disperse drop-size distribution
be about three times the critical re- is to greatly increase the drainage, at 0.3 µm. A portion of the aerosol
entrainment value needed at the ver- and the annular velocity at the top mist created is mixed with carrier air
tical position of the lower one third of the coalescer cartridge can now be and flowed through a filter disc used
 Full flow sampler
Globe valve

Coalescer test housing

and is typically run at conditions simi-

lar to actual field use. The test appa-
Oil and air ratus includes laser particle counters
injector nozzle Oil drain sump
that have improved accuracy over the
Measuring section light scattering methods used in the
Oil reservoir
Air rotometer
DOP test. This method has found wide
(300 SCFM) acceptance in many industries, includ-
Inlet air
Thermocouple ball valve ing the microelectronics field, and is a
(from manifold) reliable and useful way to evaluate
Inlet air
regulator Rotometer inlet
3 regulator the capture efficiency of a filter media
air
under initial use conditions.
Oil reservoir Disadvantages. The test conditions
air regulator Oil
rotometer are not representative of field condi-
Inlet air tions. The aerosol pressure is very
control Rotometer
Oil challenge
valve pressure gauge low, and the challenge aerosol is made
air rotometer
up of only solid particles. The test is
Inlet air also run with a clean and dry filter in
pressure
gauge service. Also, the test sample is a fil-
ter disc, and this is not always a good
Figure 4. The schematic of the liquid aerosol separation efficiency (LASE) test simulation of a coalescer cartridge
that can contain pleated media and
as the test sample at a controlled flow- and this is not always a good simula- outer wrap materials. Lastly, the test
rate with an aerosol concentration of tion of a coalescer cartridge that can is not measuring a saturated media
100 ± 20 µg/L (~ 77 ppm). Typically, contain pleated media and outer wrap that would be expected for a liquid-gas
the test sample is a filter disc with an materials. Lastly, the test is not mea- coalescer in service.
area of 100 cm2 and is challenged at suring a saturated media that would
a flowrate of 32 L/min. The inlet and be expected for a liquid-gas coalescer LASE test
outlet of the test sample is analyzed in service. The efficiency of liquid-gas coalescers
for aerosol content using a forward is measured using a test stand config-
light-scattering photometer. Sodium chloride test ured as shown in Figure 4. The test
The test is run on clean, dry filter An aerosol challenge is created by stand utilizes an assembly consisting
samples and at minimal pressure to atomizing a sodium chloride solution of a standard size element installed
assure sufficient flow with the outlet into a clean, dry filtered air stream. in a housing of a standard inside di-
at atmospheric pressure. Results are The water carrying the sodium chlo- ameter. An oil aerosol challenge is
measured as percent penetration on ride is vaporized, leaving behind solid generated upstream of the element
a scale setting of down to 0.001% or salt crystals. The salt particle-size dis- using an ultrasonic spray nozzle. Per-
even to 0.0001%. Values are commonly tribution can be varied in a controlled formance measurements are taken
reported as percent removal at 0.3 manner by adjusting the sodium-chlo- only after the coalescer assembly dif-
µm, with percent removal equal to one ride solution strength, the pressure ferential pressure and sump drainage
minus the percent penetration. and the air flowrate. The aerosol chal- rate have stabilized, that is, reached
Advantages. The DOP test is an in- lenge is passed through a test filter equilibrium. The test flowrate is ad-
dustry standard used for rating high- disc (typically 90-mm dia.) used as the justed up to the rated flow of the test
efficiency particulate air (HEPA) fil- test sample. coalescer and the annular velocity is
ters, and standard test equipment is The test flowrate is adjustable and also adjusted to representative field
readily available. The test is a reliable field-service gas fluxrates are typi- conditions by adjusting the test hous-
and useful way to evaluate the cap- cally used. An isokinetic probe is used ing diameter.
ture efficiency of a filter media under to draw off a controlled portion of the The removal efficiency of the co-
initial use conditions. aerosol stream and pass it to a laser alescer is determined by installing a
Disadvantages. The test conditions particle counter. The concentration full flow sampler at the outlet of the
are not representative of field condi- of the aerosol stream is maintained coalescer assembly. The reason for
tions. The aerosol pressure is very low, above 106 particles per cubic meter employing the full flow sampler is to
and the challenge aerosol concentra- and both inlet and outlet air streams eliminate sampling biases and ensure
tion is below that of many typical field are evaluated for particle counts. that all of the downstream oil, both en-
applications. The aerosol challenge is Advantages. The sodium chloride trained and wall flow, is captured and
also nearly mono disperse and uses a test allows for the use of an aerosol accounted for. An extraction and ana-
different liquid than would be encoun- challenge that has a varied particle- lytical analysis are then performed on
tered in actual service. The test is run size-distribution range similar to that the full flow sampler to determine the
with a clean and dry filter in service. encountered under field conditions. amount of oil that was collected dur-
Also the test sample is a filter disc, The flow per filter area is adjustable ing the test.
 Table 1: Comparison of Different Laboratory Test Methods for
Rating Liquid-Gas Coalescers
Engineering Practice Test Aerosol Inlet aerosol Test run at Test run Test run at Outlet
method type challenge saturated at max. maximum sampling
conditions loading annular method
velocity
General description of the test DOP Liquid 100 ± 20 No No No Full flow
stand. The test stand is supplied (dioctyl μg/L of Air
with dry air that is prefiltered and phthalate) (~ 77 ppm)
coalesced to eliminate any back- NaCl Solid > 106 par- No No No Isokinetic
ground dirt or liquid aerosols. The (salt) ticles per probe
oil is supplied to the atomizing noz- cubic foot
greater than
zle via a pressurized oil reservoir, 0.003 μm
and the coalesced oil is collected in
CAGI Liquid 40 ppm Yes No No Isokinetic
a sump and measured. It is impor- (lube oil) probe
tant to measure the incremental LASE Liquid 1,112 ppm Yes Yes Yes Full flow
amount of oil that is drained from (lube oil)
the coalescer housing throughout
the duration of the test. These data extraction and clean up. The inlet and ity is controlled at conditions expected
are used to determine the actual liq- outlet are equipped with Triclover fit- under field conditions also at the max-
uid challenge. Actual system flow- tings to facilitate installation and de- imum velocity per the LASE sizing
rates are monitored and controlled by mounting. These fittings are sealed method as calculated for the test con-
a regulating valve, and the flowrate when not in use and during extraction ditions. The sampling technique used
is measured with a calibrated rotom- procedures to avoid contamination. is a full flow sampler, and this method
eter. System pressure, temperature, Sampler extraction and analysis allows for more accurate results than
and differential pressure across the method. After a test run, the down- sidestream evaluation.
coalescer assembly are also measured. stream sampling membranes are ex- Disadvantages. The test conditions
The inlet to the housing is through tracted by laboratory-grade hexane. A are not completely representative of
the bottom center of the housing. No pre-weighed quantity of each solvent field conditions, as the test pressure is
settling chambers, inertial separators is introduced into the sampler and still lower than typical operating con-
or other attempts to precondition or allowed to mix for a known period of ditions and uses air as the carrier gas
remove oil challenge before contact time. An aliquot of the mixture is re- and oil as the liquid aerosol.
with the element is permitted. The moved and analyzed by either an in-
minimum air velocity between the at- frared spectrophotometer when Freon ANSI/CAGI
omizing nozzle and the test element is used, or gas chromatography mass The ANSI/CAGI method follows a sim-
inlet, including all parts of the hous- spectrometer (GCMS) method when ilar procedure and uses similar equip-
ing, is 80 ft/s minimum (24.38 m/s). hexane is used as the extracting sol- ment to the LASE test as described
Aerosol generation. A liquid loading vent. The minimum detectable oil level above, with a few exceptions that are
system utilizing an ultrasonic spray is 0.001 ppmw, based on air at 100°F shown here:
nozzle is used to generate the aero- and 100 psig. The upstream or chal- 1) The aerosol challenge is much lower
sols. The oil used for this evaluation is lenge aerosol concentration is deter- at 40 ppm
Mobil Corp.’s DTE – 24 lube oil. mined by direct gravimetric measure- 2) The annular velocity is not adjusted
The quantity of aerosol (by mass) ment following the saturation of the to the expected industrial use
and size distribution produced by test element and stabilization of the 3) The downstream sampling uses a
the nozzle depends on the flowrate saturated assembly differential pres- sidestream method that first catches
through the nozzle and the physi- sure by measuring the sump drainage wall flow in a small vessel separator
cal properties of the medium being oil from the coalescer housing during followed by a membrane sampler
sparged. The varying sized aerosols the sampling period. Subsequently, Advantages. The ANSI/CAGI test
generated by this system (0.1–1.0 µm) the actual upstream-liquid-challenge allows for the use of an aerosol chal-
are considered to be representative of concentration is determined by adding lenge that has a varied particle-size
what would be typically found in the the downstream aerosol concentration distribution range similar to that
aftercooler exhaust air from a recipro- to the sump concentration. encountered under field conditions.
cating compressor. Advantages. The LASE test allows The flow per filter area is specified at
Full flow sampler. The full flow sam- for the use of an aerosol challenge that 100% rated flow. The test conditions
pler is an inline design and contains a has a varied particle-size-distribution are under pressure and the test co-
flat sheet, non-corrugated Teflon mem- range similar to that encountered alescer is tested for efficiency after it
brane having a removal rating of at under field conditions. The flow per fil- has become saturated with oil.
least 0.45 µm and a minimum effective ter area is specified at 100% rated flow. Disadvantages. The test conditions
area of 0.26 ft2 (0.025 m2). The sam- The test conditions are under pressure are not representative of field condi-
pler has a baffle plate to guard against and the test coalescer is tested for ef- tions. The aerosol pressure is lower
direct impingement of oil droplets onto ficiency after it has become saturated than typical operating conditions and
the medium and to provide a uniform with oil. The aerosol concentration in uses air as the carrier gas. The aerosol
flow across the membrane disc. It also the challenge feed is 1,112 ppm and oil challenge is set to 40 ppm, which
has a surface finish, material of con- represents a realistic and difficult is lower than many field applications
struction and design that allow proper field application. The annular veloc- and makes this an easier test to get
 Table 2: Test results for a to a further degree by increasing the Authors
high-efficiency liquid-gas challenge load to > 1,000 ppm, and Thomas H. Wines is a senior
marketing manager for the
coalescer also taking into account the annular Fuels and Chemicals Group
velocity and using a full flow sampler at Pall Corp. (25 Harbor Park
Test Performance Dr., Port Washington, NY
Method Rating to eliminate any sidestream bias. 11050; Phone: 516-801-9453;
So for evaluating a coalescer effi- Email: [email protected]).
DOP 99.999% at 0.3 μm He has over 21 years experi-
NaCl 99.7% > 0.3 μm ciency rating, it is important to have ence of global filtration trou-
ble shooting in the petroleum
ANSI/CAGI 0.001 ppmw oil down- the test procedure specified and con- refinery, gas processing and
stream sider the different options, as they will chemical industries. He has
over 35 professional society publications and
LASE 0.01 ppmw oil down- affect the rating. As seen in Table 2, presentations. Wines holds a Ph.D. in chemical
stream the same coalescer gave quite differ- engineering from Columbia University and is a
member of the American Institute of Chemical
ent readings such as a 0.001 ppm out- Engineers (AIChE).
high-efficiency results. The test proto- let using the ANSI/CAGI test, and a Scott A. Whitney is a se-
nior manager of new product
col does not specify the annular veloc- magnitude higher outlet of 0.01 ppm development for Pall Corp.’s
ity, and this will also enable the test to when tested under more severe condi- R&D group (3669 State Route
281, Cortland, NY, 13045;
provide high-efficiency results as well. tions using the LASE test. ■ Phone: 607-753-6041; Email:
The downstream sampling method Edited by Gerald Ondrey [email protected]). His
experience includes over 33
uses a wall flow collector and iso-ki- years of process filtration and
netic probe that is not as accurate as separation equipment devel-
References opment. He is an inventor on
using a full flow sampling membrane. 1. ASTM D2986-95a (Reapproved 1999), “Stan- six patents. He holds a B.S.
dard Practice for Evaluation of Air Assay in mechanical engineering technology from the
Media by the Monodisperse DOP (Dioctyl Rochester Institute of Technology.
Concluding observations Phthalate) Smoke Test.” Ali Arshad is a vice presi-
Depending on the test method used, 2. Gotlinsky, B., Others, “Testing of All Metal Fil- dent with the Scientific and
ters for High Purity Semiconductor Process Laboratory Services (SLS)
varying efficiency ratings can be ob- Gasses,” IEST, May 1981. Dept. at Pall Corp. (17489
tained for the same test coalescer. A Village Green Dr., Houston,
3. ANSI/CAGI ADF 400-1999, “Standard for TX 77040; Phone: 713-896-
comparison of the test methods dis- Testing and Rating Coalescing Filters.” 9995; Email: ali_arshad@
4. Williamson, K., Tousi, S., and Hashemi, R., Re- pall.com). After receiving his
cussed here are presented in Table 1 Ph.D. degree in chemical en-
cent Developments in Performance Rating
along with the actual test results in of Gas/Liquid Coalescers, Presented at the gineering and pursuing a post
First Annual Meeting of the American Fil- doctoral research program
Table 2 obtained using the SepraSol™ tration Society, Ocean City, Maryland, March on low-energy, surfactant-
Plus liquid-gas coalescer. 21–25, 1988. based separation technologies at the University
of Oklahoma, he joined Pall Corp. in 1991 as a
The DOP and sodium chloride tests 5. Miller, J. D., Koslow, R. R. and Williamson, K. staff scientist. During his tenure at Pall, he has
W., U.S. Patent 4,676,807, June 30, 1987; id. focused on process analysis and development
were found to provide information U. S. Patent 4,759,782, July, 1988. and global technical customer and sales sup-
only on the media capture efficiency 6 Wines, T. H., Improve Liquid/Gas Coalescer port of filtration and separation products in the
Performance, Hydrocarbon Process., Vol. 79, fuels and chemicals market. He authored several
and were not taking into account No. 1, January, 2000. technical papers and presented his work at vari-
many of the factors associated with 7 Brown, R. L., Wines, T. H., Recent Develop-
ous conferences. He is a member of the AICHE.
how a liquid-gas coalescer operates. ments in Liquid-Gas Separation Technology,
Presented at the Laurence Reid Gas Condi-
The ANSI/CAGI test is a marked tioning Conference, Norman Oklahoma, Feb-
improvement operating under oil-sat- ruary 28, 1994
urated conditions, with a poly disperse 8 Murphy, W. L., Practical In-Service Simulation
Tests for Rating of High Efficiency Aerosol
inlet particle-size distribution. Coalescing Performance, PEDD-FSR-101a,
Pall Corp. Equipment Development, Novem-
The LASE test takes the evaluation ber 1984.

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