Collecting particles from a fluid stream via thermophoresis

A thermophoretic particle collector comprising:

• a conduit;
• and
• a collection chamber fluidly coupled to the conduit via an inlet and having an interior surface thermally coupled to a fluid circulation structure and a series of radial channels formed through the interior surface, wherein the fluid circulation structure is configured to cool the interior surface to a cooled temperature and the collection chamber is configured to:
• receive a gas-particle stream from the conduit via the inlet, the gas-particle stream comprising a plurality of particles and having a temperature greater than the cooled temperature of the interior surface;
• and
• flow the gas-particle stream through the chamber having an axis, wherein the gas-particle stream is directed along the cooled interior surface of the collection chamber, and a temperature gradient between the gas-particle stream and the cooled interior surface creates a thermophoretic force, the thermophoretic force attracting the particles from the gas-particle stream to the interior surface of the collection chamber, wherein the particles are deposited onto the interior surface.

A thermophoretic particle collector comprising:

• a deceleration structure having an axis, a first end including an inlet, and a second end, the deceleration chamber configured to receive a primary matter stream having a first velocity vector substantially parallel with its axis through the inlet and divert the stream of matter into a plurality of secondary matter streams with velocity vectors substantially perpendicular to the axis;
• a channeling structure including a plurality of fluid cooling conduits and a matter transfer structure, the fluid cooling conduits separately sealed from the matter transfer structure but in thermal communication with the matter transfer structure, the matter transfer structure configured to receive the plurality of secondary matter streams from the deceleration structure and transfer the plurality of secondary matter streams through the channeling structure;
• a funneling structure including an outlet and being configured to receive the plurality of secondary matter streams from the channeling structure, join the plurality of streams to form an output stream, and deliver the output stream to the outlet;
• and
• a coolant circulation system configured to circulate coolant through the fluid cooling conduits of the channeling structure.