Crossflow scrubbing process

Claim 1

A PROCESS FOR THE LIQUID CONTACT TREATMENT OF A GAS HAVING FINELY DIVIDED PARTICLES SUSPENDED THEREIN COMPRISING THE STEPS OF: (A) PASSING SAID GAS THROUGH A DUST SEPARATION DEVICE WHEREBY A PRELIMINARY REMOVAL OF A PORTION OF SAID DUST IS EFFECTED THEREBY; (B) THEN PASSING SAID GAS IN A HORIZONTAL PATH THROUGH AN ENCLOSURE COMPLETELY FILLED WITH A FILAMENTOUS PACKING HAVING LITTLE CONTINUOUS EXTENSIVE SURFACE, AND HAVING ABOUT 80-85% FREE VOLUME THEREIN; SAID PACKING CONSISTING OF RANDOMLY ARRANGED, INTERLOCKED TOWER PACKING UNITS, THE UNITS BEING MADE UP OF APPROXIMATELY CIRCULAR, INTEGRALLY CONNECTED FILAMENT PORTIONS HAVING THEIR AXES APPROXIMATELY TANGENT TO A CIRCLE AT APPROXIMATELY EVENLY SPACED POINTS THEREAROUND, THE NUMBER OF SUCH SPACED APPROXIMATELY CIRCULAR PORTIONS BEING FROM 6 TO 12 AND THE DIAMETER OF SUCH CIRCLE BEING APPROXIMATELY EQUAL TO THE DIAMETER OF ONE OF SUCH APPROXIMATELY CIRCULAR FILAMENT PORTIONS PLUS THE DIAMETER OF A SMALLER CIRCLE WHOSE CIRCUMFERENCE IS NOT LESS THAN THE CROSS-SECTIONAL DIMENSION OF THE FILAMENT PORTION IN THE DIRECTION OF ITS AXIS TIMES THE NUMBER OF SUCH FILAMENT PORTIONS AND NOT GREATER THAN THE CIRCUMFERENCE OF ONE OF SUCH APPROXIMATELY CIRCULAR FILAMENT PORTIONS; (C) WHILE SAID GAS IS BEING PASSED THROUGH SAID ENCLOSURE, DISTRIBUTING A LIQUID IN PARTICULATE FORM AND IN A DIRECTION PERPENDICULAR TO GAS FLOW AT THE TOP OF AND THROUGH A SUBSTANTIAL PORTION OF SAID PACKING, AND (D) COLLECTING THE LIQUID AFTER PASSING THROUGH SAID PACKING.