Material collector and discharger apparatus

In a pressurized materials processing system, separation of solid particulates from a gaseous process fluid is beneficially accomplished by use of a swept orifice discharger comprised of a cylindrical housing that is closed at one end and open at the other end. The housing contains an impeller within its interior and has a selected, presized orifice in its cylindrical side wall. In operation, the solid material and gaseous fluid are received in the swept orifice discharger housing and the solid material is continuously centrifugally urged toward the housing side wall so that it separates from the gaseous process fluid and collects on the housing side wall. Contemporaneously, the impeller continuously sweeps the collected solid material past the orifice, to avoid plugging of the orifice opening, while the pressurized gaseous fluid, which is continuously maintained at desired elevated pressure, blows the collected material through the presized orifice opening with only a controlled or predetermined minor portion of the available pressurized gaseous fluid. The remaining, clean or substantially particle-free, pressurized gaseous process fluid may then be recycled in the processing system or otherwise conserved, if desired.