Dust removal from gas using wire mesh:\nMetallic wire mesh as a filtering medium for dust-laden gas is characteristic of which device?

Introduction / Context:
Particulate removal technologies rely on different media and mechanisms. Wire-mesh screens are used in certain air filter elements (e.g., prefilters, oil-wetted screen filters) where the mesh provides impaction/impingement surfaces and structural rigidity for low-to-moderate dust loads.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• Gas-phase dust removal at relatively low pressure drop.
• Reusable or cleanable metal elements preferred.

Concept / Approach:
Wire-mesh air filters capture particles by inertial impaction, interception, and sometimes with tackifier oils. Bag filters instead use fabric felts or woven textiles, not metal mesh, and rely on a dust cake for high efficiency. Venturi scrubbers are wet collectors; hydrocyclones are inertial separators without a porous medium; electrostatic precipitators use electric fields and plates/wires, not mesh as the primary medium. Therefore, a device explicitly using metallic mesh as the medium is an air filter of the wire-mesh type.

Step-by-Step Solution:

Verification / Alternative check:
HVAC/industrial prefilter catalogs list layered metal mesh filters for coarse dust and oil mist service.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:

• Bag filters: fabric media.
• Scrubbers/hydrocyclones/ESPs: different collection principles and media.

Common Pitfalls:
Assuming all “filters” use fabric; metals are common for cleanable prefiltration and high-temperature service.

Final Answer:
Air filter (wire-mesh or metal-screen type)