Bechtel International Corporation

Irving Leibson

Charles A Lambly

Pierre J Chassagne

Joseph M Fox, Iii

Horst Huettenhain

Bruce D Degen

A system for converting a coal slurry flowable through a pipeline to a coal water mixture capable of being rendered suitable for direct combustion in a boiler. The system includes a pipeline extending from a region adjacent to a mine or source of coal to a region adjacent to a boiler or furnace at which combustion is to take place. In the furnace region, the slurry from the pipeline is directed into a holding space, such as a pond, from which it is directed to a grinding apparatus. On the way to the grinding apparatus from the pond, a side stream of the slurry is directed through a dewatering apparatus where the concentration of the side stream is increased from 50-55 weight percent of solids to about 70-80 weight percent of solids. The outlet of the dewatering apparatus is directed back to the main flow of slurry from the pond, and the main flow enters the grinding apparatus where the slurry is ground to a particle size suitable for combustion, such as 70-80% weight percent of solids at -200 mesh. The ground slurry can then be directed into a small agitated tank and from this tank it can be directed into the boiler or furnace for combustion.

Apparatus and method for converting pipeline fine coal slurry to coal

Carnallite, comprising principally of MgCl.sub.2. KCl.6H.sub.2 O, with varying amounts of sodium chloride and other impurities, is dissolved in a lower saturated monohydric aliphatic alcohol having from one to four carbon atoms such as methanol, ethanol, propanol, isopropyl alcohol, N-butyl alcohol, secondary-butyl alcohol, iso-butyl alcohol, and tert-butyl alcohol, to dissolve the magnesium chloride therein leaving an insoluble residue of principally potassium chloride, sodium chloride and other materials. The residue is filtered from the solution, dried and stored or further processed. The filtrate, a magnesium chloride hydrate solution is further processed by injecting steam or water into the solution and removing, e.g., evaporating the methanol from the solution leaving an aqueous magnesium chloride hexahydrate brine. The recovered methanol is dried by distillation, condensed and recycled. The brine is stored for subsequent processing or dehydrated to a magnesium chloride dihydrate and granulated for storage and subsequent use.

Process for the recovery of magnesium chloride hydrate and potassium

A method of separating and removing magnesium chloride hexahydrate from deep subterranean salt formations containing magnesium chloride hexahydrate, such as a carnallite bed or a bischofite bed, wherein one or more holes are drilled or provided through an overburden and into the bed. A solvent formed from any one of the lower saturated monohydric aliphatic alcohols having 1 to 4 carbon atoms, such as methanol, is directed downwardly in the hole and into contact with the bed, then upwardly through and out of the cased hole. Magnesium chloride hexahydrate is dissolved selectively by the solvent, but other salts, such as potassium chloride and sodium chloride, remain substantially insoluble in the solvent. The insolubles may be elevated out of the hole simultaneously with the lifting of the solvent-magnesium chloride hexahydrate solution or subsequent to such lifting. The flow is continued until the solvent is sufficiently lean to warrant the discontinuance of recovery of magnesium chloride hexahydrate, at which time the operation can be terminated or a second phase operation can be undertaken in which the slurry comprised of the solvent and the insolubles in the cavity of the bed is removed from the hole by conventional techniques, such as pumping or gas lifting.

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Alamo, CA, United States of America

Irving Leibson