Patent ID: 8100990

Claim:
A method of integrated biomass fast pyrolysis and fractionation, said method comprising: (a) providing a feedstock comprising biomass; (b) introducing said prepared biomass to a reactor, operated under fast pyrolysis conditions, and in the presence of a heat carrier and/or a heated gas, to convert said biomass to a reaction mixture comprising condensable vapors, aerosol droplets, non-condensable gases, and solid biochar; (c) removing at least some of said solid biochar from said reaction mixture, to produce an intermediate mixture comprising condensable vapors, aerosol droplets, and non-condensable gases; (d) introducing said intermediate mixture to a multi-stage separator comprising at least one heated electrochemical separator followed by at least one heat exchanger, wherein said at least one electrochemical separator and said at least one heat exchanger are operated under effective conditions to collect individual liquid bio-oil fractions, including a final liquid bio-oil fraction, each derived from said condensable vapors and said aerosol droplets, wherein said at least one heat exchanger and said at least one electrochemical separator are operated with a heat exchanger wall temperature and an electrochemical separator wall temperature maintained above the water saturation temperature at the water vapor pressure determined within said at least one heat exchanger and said at least one electrochemical separator, respectively, such that water content is maximized in said final liquid bio-oil fraction; (e) recovering and recycling at least some of said non-condensable gas from said intermediate mixture back into said reactor; and (f) recovering at least some of said solid biochar as a cooled, stable biochar product.