Patent ID: 7238216

Claim:
An inertial gas-liquid impactor separator for removing liquid particles from a gas-liquid stream, comprising a housing having an inlet for receiving a gas-liquid stream, and an outlet for discharging a gas stream, nozzle structure in said housing having one or more nozzles receiving said gas-liquid stream from said inlet and accelerating said gas-liquid stream therethrough, said one or more nozzles providing a cumulative flow therethrough, an inertial impactor collector in said housing in the path of said accelerated gas-liquid stream and causing liquid particle separation from said gas-liquid stream, a variable flow actuator varying said cumulative flow through said one or more nozzles in response to a given parameter, wherein said one or more nozzles comprise one or more orifices, said gas-liquid stream flows axially along an axial flow direction through said one or more orifices, and said actuator is movable along a given direction relative to said one or more orifices to vary said cumulative flow, wherein said nozzle structure comprises a plurality of said nozzles comprising a plurality of said orifices providing said cumulative flow in parallel therethrough, and wherein said actuator is movable across one or more of said orifices to change the cross-sectional area thereof transverse to said axial flow direction.