Patent ID: 7108738

Claim:
An apparatus for filtering a natural gas stream, the apparatus comprising: a closed vessel having a length and an initially open interior; a partition disposed within the vessel interior, the partition having a planar inner and planar outer side, respectively, dividing the vessel interior into a first stage and a second stage; at least one opening in the partition; an inlet port in fluid communication with the first stage; an outlet port in fluid communication with the second stage; at least one tubular filter element, the tubular filter element being disposed within the vessel to sealingly extend from within the first stage to within the second stage, the filter element having a locking end, a tubular length, and an opposite end; a mounting structure located on a selected planar side of the partition within the vessel interior; a rotational mounting means on the locking end of the at least one filter element which cooperates with the mounting structure of the vessel for rotationally locking the filter element with respect to the partition upon rotational movement of the filter element; wherein a J-slot is provided in the mounting structure of the vessel and wherein the filter element carries a T-bar with an outer extent which matingly engages the J-slot in the mounting structure.