Patent ID: 8016901

Claim:
A device for separating constituents of a flow comprising: an inlet adapted to accept the flow; a throat fluidicly coupled to said inlet at a first location; a skimmer at a second location fluidicly coupled to said throat via a separation flow path wherein said separation flow path further comprises a deflection wall and an expansion wall and a throat dimension defined as the distance between said deflection wall and said expansion wall, wherein said throat dimension at said third location is greater than said throat dimension at said first location and said throat dimension is adapted to vary along the length of said separation flow path such that the expansion induced cooling of the flow causes a first set of constituents of the flow to at least partially condense; said separation flow path comprising an expansion nozzle disposed along said separation flow path fluidicly coupling said throat and a third location, wherein said third location is fluidicly coupled to said second location via said separation flow path; said expansion nozzle adapted to rotate a first mean velocity vector associated with the flow at said first location to a third mean velocity vector associated with the flow at said third location, wherein the difference between the direction of said first mean velocity vector and the direction of said third mean velocity vector is greater than about 120 degrees; wherein the mean pressure of the flow at said first location is greater than the mean pressure of the flow at said third location, and the magnitude of said first mean velocity vector is less than the magnitude of said third mean velocity vector; a first diffuser fluidicly coupled to said skimmer adapted to collect said first set of constituents of the flow wherein said first diffuser is defined, in part, by a first wall that adjoins said deflection wall; a second diffuser fluidicly coupled to said skimmer adapted to collect a second set of constituents of the flow wherein said second diffuser is defined, in part, by a second wall that adjoins said expansion wall; a top plate and a bottom plate wherein said top plate and said bottom plate respectively form an upper surface and a lower surface of said separation flow path wherein said top plate and said bottom plate collectively further comprise a gas inlet, a first diffuser outlet, and a second diffuser outlet fluidicly coupled to said inlet, said first diffuser, and said second diffuser, respectively; and a nozzle plate defining the lateral boundaries of said inlet, said throat, said skimmer, and said expansion region and the channel height of said separation flow path, wherein said nozzle plate further comprises a top surface and a bottom surface.