Packing material unit

Abstract

A packing material unit for use in liquid-gas contact apparatuses, which comprises outer and inner rings, and a plurality of pairs of arched filaments positioned side by side such that their curved outer surfaces are oriented alternately to opposite sides of the plane involving the outer and inner rings to form a plurality of circular or elliptic loops arranged about an imaginary circle which is concentric with the outer and inner rings. A connecting member is bridged between intermediate portions of each pair of the filament. A plural number of reinforcing members extend between apex portions of oppositely arched filaments of adjacent filament pairs. The connecting members and reinforcing members serve both to prevent the interlocking of adjacent packing material units and to improve mechanical strength of the unit.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.