Mist elimination or demisting can be defined as the mechanical
separation of liquids from gases. The first and most widely used separators were comprised of impaction devices in packed columns, such as packing and perforated plates. Cyclonic separators were later developed to lower the height of the packed columns. Then wire mesh mist eliminators were invented to lower the pressure drop of the cyclonic separators and improve the collection efficiency of smaller droplets.

The wire mist eliminators, commonly referred to as knitted mesh mist eliminators, collect droplets by the inertial impaction and interception mechanisms of collection. The wire mesh separators are commonly used to collect droplets above 5 microns in diameter. However, when the separation of droplets in the 1-3 µm is required, these wire mist eliminators are largely ineffective because of the mesh’s random structure, irregular density, and coarse fiber diameters.