Method and apparatus to condense magnesium vapor using a fluid-cooled heat exchanger

A method for condensing magnesium (Mg) metal from a gaseous stream, the method comprising:

• feeding a magnesium-containing gaseous stream at a temperature of at least 650° C. into a heat exchanger;
• cooling the magnesium-containing gaseous stream with a cooling heat transfer fluid not in direct communication with the magnesium-containing gaseous stream at a temperature of 200-650° C. to deposit magnesium metal on walls of the heat exchanger of at least 35 wt-% Mg;
• and
• inducing a phase change in the deposited magnesium metal by raising the temperature of the heat exchanger using a heating heat transfer fluid of the same composition as the cooling heat transfer fluid, thus heating the magnesium metal to at least the boiling point of magnesium, to allow the magnesium metal to flow into another area for further processing.