Experimental investigation of a cryogenic filter for separating solid carbon dioxide particles from liquid nitrogen

This paper presents an investigation of a new method of purifying cryogenic liquid using sintered metallic wire-mesh filter, which has the advantages of high purifying efficiency and preferred strength at absolutely low temperature. Experiments are conducted to purify solid CO2 particles from liquid nitrogen. Temperature and pressure in the upstream and downstream of the filter, and the flow rate of carbon dioxide (CO2) gas and liquid nitrogen are measured, with the gas content of filtrate analyzed using a CO2 concentration detector. It is illustrated that after filtration, the purity of liquid nitrogen (volume fraction) is higher than 99.99%, which means that the volume fraction of CO2 is less than 0.01%. Effects of operation parameters on the performance of the filter, such as pressure drop △p and filtration efficiency E are analyzed quantitatively. The present conclusions will provide a guideline to the optimumal design and operation of sintered metallic wire-mesh filter in cryogenic application.