Long Running scripts

[eluser]Haydenzone[/eluser]
Essentially, I have a long running PHP script that, if executed from the browser, causes it to hang. There is no data coming from this script that is useful to the client(after a certain point), so I'm hoping to be able to sever ties with the browser, so the server can get down to business on the rest of the script.

I was wondering if there was a way to achieve this within the CodeIgniter framework?

If not, what would be my best option for tackling this can of worms?

Thanks in advance!!