Patent ID: 6984305

Claim:
A process for separating fluid fuel constituents from organic material comprising the steps of: placing said material in an anaerobic reaction zone; and controlling the conditions of operation selected from the group comprising temperature, acidity, and pressure to support processes selected from the group including decomposition by microorganismal activity, thermochemical dissociation, chemical synthesis, and photosynthetic chemistry thereby producing said fuel constituents selected from the group including methane, hydrogen, and mixtures of methane and hydrogen along with one or more carbon substances selected from the group including carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, carbon, and mixtures of carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide, and separating one or more of said carbon substances from one or more of said fuel constituents by a separation means selected from the group including selective removal of one or more of said carbon substances, selective removal of one or more of said fuel constituents by a medium that is controlled by a process selected from the group including pressure swing absorption, temperature swing absorption, and pressure and temperature swing absorption wherein said separation means provides the steps of: mixing said fuel constituents and said carbon substances with said medium, controlling said medium to provide preferential absorption of selections from either said carbon substances or said fuel constituents, collecting selections of said fuel constituents or said carbon substances that remain after said preferential absorption.