A tube assembly for cooling an incoming fluid stream and destroying pollutants
contained therein comprises a tube with a catalytic coating on its inner wall and
an arrangement for disrupting laminar flow of the fluid stream as it transits the
tube, thereby causing turbulence which increases mass transfer between the gas
phase and the catalyst-coated inner surfaces. One embodiment comprises an axially
inserted turbulator that is segmented by one or more axially directed cuts, each
segment rotated by an offset angle with respect to an adjacent segment, and optionally
coated with the catalytic coating. Another embodiment comprises sets of opposed
dimples, each set separated from its adjacent set by a linear distance and an axial
angle. Such tube assemblies may be advantageously employed in aircraft environmental
control systems for conditioning cabin air.