Gas phase methods to extract natural products

A method to separate a molecule from an impurity, comprising:

• providing a composition comprising the molecule and the impurity, wherein the impurity is cellulose I;
• the composition has a surface-area-to-volume ratio of at least 500 per meter;
• and providing the composition comprises directing the composition through an entrance to a path;
• suspending the composition in a gas to produce a suspended composition that comprises the molecule and the impurity;
• propelling the suspended composition from the entrance to a first exit to the path at a velocity of at least 1 meter per second;
• transferring energy to the suspended composition to vaporize the molecule and produce a vaporized molecule, wherein transferring the energy to the suspended composition comprises contacting the suspended composition with at least 0.0004 and no greater than 0.04 kilowatt hours of energy per gram of the suspended composition;
• separating the vaporized molecule from the impurity, wherein separating the vaporized molecule from the impurity comprises directing the cellulose I through a first exit from the path;
• condensing the vaporized molecule to produce a condensed molecule;
• and
• collecting an extract comprising the condensed molecule.

A method to separate a molecule from an impurity, comprising:

• providing a composition comprising the molecule and the impurity, wherein the impurity is cellulose I;
• the composition has a surface-area-to-volume ratio of at least 500 per meter;
• and providing the composition comprises directing the composition through an entrance to a path;
• suspending the composition in a gas to produce a suspended composition that comprises the molecule and the impurity;
• propelling the suspended composition from the entrance to a first exit to the path at a velocity of at least 1 meter per second;
• transferring energy to the suspended composition to vaporize the molecule and produce a vaporized molecule, wherein transferring the energy to the suspended composition comprises contacting the suspended composition with at least 0.0004 and no greater than 0.04 kilowatt hours of energy per gram of the suspended composition;
• separating the vaporized molecule from the impurity, wherein separating the vaporized molecule from the impurity comprises directing the cellulose I through a first exit from the path;
• condensing the vaporized molecule to produce a condensed molecule;
• and
• collecting an extract comprising the condensed molecule,
• wherein:
• the energy is transferred to the suspended composition to vaporize the molecule at a vaporization rate, which is an amount of moles of the molecule that are vaporized per unit time;
• the vaporized molecule is condensed to produce the condensed molecule at a condensation rate, which is an amount of moles of the vaporized molecule that are condensed per unit time;
• the method is performed such that the vaporization rate is at least 50 percent of the condensation rate, and the condensation rate is at least 50 percent of the vaporization rate;
• and
• the method is operated continuously for a period of time of at least 30 minutes such that each of the providing, the suspending, the transferring, the separating, the condensing, and the collecting are performed simultaneously on different portions of the same composition.