Patent ID: 7004999

Claim:
A method of continuously capturing BioOil and its constituents from a gas stream produced in a fast pyrolysis/thermolysis process, in a usable liquid form so as to produce a non-condensable gas free of fouling contaminates, comprising: (a) separating BioOil and its constituents from a gas stream using hot inertial separation to maintain the BioOil and its sticky and/or thick constituents at a temperature below its point of rapid degradation and above a point at which its viscosity is low enough to avoid inefficient operation of the separation equipment; (b) providing a settling section following said hot inertial separation step in which a gas temperature is low enough to cause droplets in the gas stream to settle out but with a gas temperature high enough so that a viscosity of said droplets remains low enough to avoid inefficient operation of the separation equipment; and (c) condensing vapour in the gas stream.