Cryogenic aerosol separator

A cryogenic aerosol classifier for inertially separating and classifying particles from a stream of aerosol, comprising:

• a cryogenic aerosol generator comprising a reservoir containing a cryogenic gas-liquid mixture at a first pressure, a delivery line coupled to said reservoir, and a nozzle connected to said delivery line for expanding said mixture from said first pressure to a second pressure lower than said first pressure for producing a cryogenic aerosol having high and low mobility particles;
• and
• separator means provided with a diverter, said separator means being coupled to said nozzle, wherein particles having high mobility are removed and diverted from said stream.

A method for separating and classifying cryogenic aerosol particles having different mobility, comprising the steps of:

• generating an aerosol having high and low mobility particles by moving a cryogenic gas-liquid mixture from an area at a first pressure into an area at a second pressure which is lower than said first pressure;
• and
• providing a separator having a diverter to separate from said aerosol particles having high mobility from particles having a low mobility.