Patent ID: 7160358

Claim:
A method for purifying a gas stream containing gas-borne contaminants which comprises: contacting said gas stream with fine liquid droplets from a dual-fluid atomizer nozzle to saturate the gas stream with moisture and to entrain particulates in the liquid droplets, subjecting said gas stream to wet electrostatic precipitation in a wet electrostatic precipitator to electrostatically separate liquid droplets from the gas stream, said wet electrostatic precipitator having an upper gas inlet and a lower gas outlet and a plurality of vertical electrodes between said inlet and said outlet, and subjecting said gas stream to mist elimination to remove residual liquid droplets in a mist elimination device comprising: an enclosure having an upper inlet in unobstructed fluid flow communication with the lower outlet of the wet electrostatic precipitator, a lower outlet for collected liquid and a second outlet for said product gas stream, a hood located generally axially in said enclosure having walls sloping downwardly from an upper crown to a lower extremity defining an exterior and a space beneath the hood, at least one moisture collection channel provided on the exterior surface of said walls positioned to collect liquid on said walls and guide the collected liquid to at least one flow channel positioned to direct collected liquid to below the hood towards said lower outlet, at least one moisture collection channel provided on an interior surface of the walls positioned to collect liquid entrained in the gas stream and passing from the exterior of the hood into the space beneath the hood, and an outlet duct communicating with the space beneath the hood and joined to the second outlet for guiding gas entering the space beneath the hood to the second outlet.