Fluid fuel from coal and method of making same

• US 4,762,528 A
• Filed: 09/05/1986
• Issued: 08/09/1988
• Est. Priority Date: 09/05/1986
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Eric H. Reichl
• Original Assignee: Eric H. Reichl
• Inventors: Reichl, Eric H.
• Primary Examiner(s): Dixon, Jr., William R.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Medley, Margaret B.
• Application Number:
  US06/903,602
• Time in Patent Office: 704 Days
• Field of Search: 44/51, 48/197 R, 48/215, 423/459, 423/437, 423/454, 423/449
• US Class Current: 44/280
• CPC Class Codes: C10J 2300/093 Coal
• CPC Class Codes: C10J 2300/0946 Waste, e.g. MSW, tires, glass, tar sand, peat, paper, lignite, oil shale
• CPC Class Codes: C10J 2300/0956 Air or oxygen enriched air
• CPC Class Codes: C10J 2300/0959 Oxygen
• CPC Class Codes: C10J 2300/0969 Carbon dioxide
• CPC Class Codes: C10J 2300/1815 for carbon dioxide
• CPC Class Codes: C10J 3/54 Gasification of granular or pulverulent fuels by the Winkler technique, i.e. by fluidisation
• CPC Class Codes: C10J 3/56 Apparatus; Plants
• CPC Class Codes: C10L 1/322 Coal-oil suspensions
• CPC Class Codes: C10L 1/326 Coal-water suspensions

Abstract

Coal is gasified to produce carbon monoxide which is converted to carbon by a reverse Boudouard reaction

2CO→CO.sub.2 +C

The carbon dioxide is recycled and reacted with coal to create more carbon monoxide by the Boudouard reaction

CO.sub.2 +C→2CO

The resulting carbon is recovered and mixed with a liquid to form a liquid slurry of particulate carbon which is useful as a liquid fuel. The liquid may be water or hydrocarbonaceous liquids. The process optimizes recovery of carbon from coal in a usable form, substantially free of sulfur, hydrogen, ash and nitrogen.

Claims

1. A method for generating from coal a liquid fuel in the form of a combustible liquid carbon slurry comprising:

a. reacting substantially the entire said coal with oxygen and carbon dioxide in a gas generation chamber to produce products consisting essentially of ash and carbon monoxide entrained in a gas stream with reacted gases and other gases;

b. passing said gas stream into a reaction chamber containing catalyst for the reverse Boudouard reaction to convert the carbon monoxide into carbon dioxide and free carbon and recovering the free carbon from the reaction chamber;

c. separating the gases in said reaction chamber into carbon dioxide and residue gases; and

d. returning at least a portion of the carbon dioxide rich gas stream to the said gas generation chamber for reaction with coal;

e. recovering the said residue gas stream.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the said liquid is water and the resulting product is an aqueous carbon slurry.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the said liquid is a combustible liquid and the resulting product is a slurry of particular carbon in combustible liquid.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the resulting slurry contains 55 to 75 weight percent particulate carbon.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the said gas generation chamber is a fluidized bed reaction vessel.