Patent ID: 8398744

Claim:
An apparatus for reducing a quantity of particulate matter entrained within a gas stream, the system including: a coarse filter that removes at least a portion of particulate matter having a relatively-large particle size from the gas stream; an agglomerator that agglomerates particulate matter having a relatively-small particle size remaining in the gas stream into particulate clusters after the portion of the particulate matter having the relatively-large particle size has been removed by the coarse filter; an injector that introduces an agglomerating material into the gas stream before the gas stream enters the agglomerator, wherein the agglomerating material promotes agglomeration of the particulate matter having the relatively-small particle size into the particulate clusters; and a second filter that receives the gas stream and removes at least a portion of the particulate clusters entrained within the gas stream exiting the agglomerator.