Patent ID: 6956217

Claim:
A device for separating a multi-constituent material into constituents, said device comprising: a cylindrical wall having a first end, a second end and an inner radius, R wall , said wall surrounding a chamber and defining a longitudinal axis; means at said first end of said wall for converting the multi-constituent material into a multi-species plasma in said chamber within a radius, r source , from said longitudinal axis to create cold ions of relatively low mass to charge ratio, M 1 , and cold ions of relatively high mass to charge ratio, M 2 ; a collector shaped as a hollow cylinder having outer radius R outer , said collector centered on said longitudinal axis and positioned at said second end of said wall; means for establishing crossed electric and magnetic fields (E×B) in said chamber to define a cutoff mass M C , relative to a radial distance, a, from said axis, with M 1 <M 2 ≦M C and a<R wall ; and means for controlling E×B to place said ions of relatively high mass to charge ratio, M 2 , on trajectories having a radial apogee, r apogee , into said collector with r apogee >R outer , and to place said ions of relatively low mass to charge ratio, M 1 , on trajectories through said hollow collector.