Exxon Research and Engineering Company

Stephen N Vaugh

Robert J Lang

A process for gasifying a non-gaseous solid material wherein a portion of the gasification is accomplished in the presence of steam and another portion of the gasification is accomplished in the presence of hydrogen and in the substantial absence of carbon dioxide and steam. The gasification will be accomplished at an elevated temperature and pressure. The essence of the invention resides in the discovery that carbon alkali metal catalyst, generally used for the gasification of carbonaceous materials, will deactivate in the presence of carbon dioxide, especially if the alkali metal carbonate is stable at gasification conditions and in the discovery that this deactivation can be either significantly reduced if the initial portion of the gasification is completed in the presence of hydrogen and in the substantial absence of steam and carbon dioxide or if after the catalyst has become partially deactivated, the activity is restored by completing a portion of the gasification in the presence of hydrogen and in the substantial absence of steam and carbon dioxide.

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Webster, TX, United States of America

Stephen N Vaugh