Continuous biomass extraction system and process

Abstract

A method for producing valuable organic liquid from a biomass wherein a gas is heated to a predetermined temperature to produce a heated gas. The heated gas is mixed with a biomass to produce an enriched organic vapor and a biomass waste product. The biomass waste product is separated from the enriched organic vapor. The enriched organic vapor is cooled to produce a liquid organic oil and the liquid organic oil is collected. A system for producing the liquid organic oil wherein the system includes a heat source for heating a gas to produce a heated gas and a first separation unit to separate an enriched organic vapor and a biomass waste product. The enriched organic vapor and the biomass waste product are generated from mixing the heated gas and a biomass. The system also includes a wet scrubber for cooling the enriched organic vapor to remove certain compounds from the enriched organic vapor to generate an enriched organic smoke. The organic smoke can be transformed to the liquid organic oil in an electrostatic precipitator.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for producing valuable organic liquid from a biomass, the method comprising:
 heating a gas to a predetermined temperature to produce a heated gas;   mixing a biomass with the heated gas to produce an enriched organic vapor and a biomass waste product;   separating the enriched organic vapor from the biomass waste product in a first cyclonic separation unit;   cooling the enriched organic vapor in a wet scrubber to remove certain compounds from the enriched organic vapor to produce an enriched organic smoke;   transforming the enriched organic smoke to a liquid organic oil; and   collecting the liquid organic oil.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising the step of depositing the biomass into a conduit where the biomass is mixed with the heated gas. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising the step of cooling the enriched organic vapor with wet scrubbing with water. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising the step of generating the liquid organic oil from the enriched organic vapor with electrostatic precipitation. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , where the electrostatic precipitation is operated with positive or negative polarity. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 4 , where the electrostatic precipitation is operated within a laminar flow regime within an inner electrode zone. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 4 , where the electrostatic precipitator includes parallel collecting tubes wherein each collecting tube has an inner surface and an exterior surface. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7 , where the parallel collecting tubes are heated to facilitate the downward flow of the liquid organic oil down the inner surface of the tubes of the electrostatic precipitator. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the biomas is hemp or  cannabis  and the organic oil is primarily comprised of cannabidiol (CBD) oil and the weight percent of the CBD oil is greater than 70 percent of the weight of the organic oil. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein all steps are conducted at atmospheric pressure. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1  wherein all steps are conducted free of the use of any solvents. 
     
     
         12 . A system for producing valuable organic liquid from a biomass, the system comprising:
 a heat source for heating a gas to produce a heated gas;   a first cyclonic separation unit to separate an enriched organic vapor and a biomass waste product, the enriched organic vapor and biomass waste product generated from mixing the heated gas and a biomass;   a wet scrubber for cooling the enriched organic vapor to remove certain compounds from the enriched organic vapor to generate an enriched organic smoke; and   an electrostatic precipitator for transforming the enriched organic smoke to a liquid organic oil.   
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 12 , further comprising a cyclonic mist to separate entrained liquid droplets and biomass dust particles exiting the wet scrubber from the enriched organic smoke. 
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 12 , where the electrostatic precipitator includes parallel collecting tubes wherein each collecting tube has an inner surface and an exterior surface. 
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 14 , where the enriched organic vapor entering the electrostatic precipitator flows downwardly through the tubes. 
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 15 , where the parallel collecting tubes are heated to facilitate the flow of the liquid organic oil down the inner surface of the tubes of the electrostatic precipitator. 
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein all components of the system operate at atmospheric pressure. 
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein all components of the system operate free of the use of any solvents. 
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein the biomass can continually be fed to the system and the liquid organic oil can continuously be produced. 
     
     
         20 . The system of  claim 12 , further comprising a conduit disposed between the heat source and the first separation unit where the biomass and the heated gas can be mixed.