Patent ID: 7202389

Claim:
Process for converting a feed stream comprising gas and particles into a pyrolysis product stream comprising the pyrolysis products of said particles and a solid stream comprising solids, the process comprising the steps of: i) introducing said feed stream into a cyclone; ii) applying heat to said feed stream in said cyclone to effect pyrolysis of at least part of said particles; and iii) substantially separating solids from gases by: a) effecting cyclone action, and b) operating a rotating filter which is connected to one of the gas exits of said cyclone, such that said pyrolysis product stream and said solid stream exit as separate streams, the pyrolysis product stream essentially free of solids with solids having a diameter from between about 0.1 μm and 50 μm being removed from the pyrolysis product stream exiting the rotating filter, the product stream exiting the cyclone and entering the rotating filter remains uncooled so that heat within the solids entering the rotating filter is not lost to cooling prior to the solids being separated from the pyrolysis product stream within the rotating filter so that the solids are removed from the pyrolysis product stream while preserving the heat within the solids.