Hydrocarbon Research, Inc.

William Volk

Clarence A Johnson

Low rank coals such as subbituminous or lignites containing more than about 10 wt. % moisture are first dried and then passed to a fluidized bed where the coal is passivated against reabsorption of moisture by coating the warm coal particles with a heavy liquid hydrocarbon material. Such coating substantially prevents the reabsorption of moisture in the coal, and thereby prevents autogenous heating and possible spontaneous ignition during subsequent transportation or storage of the passivated coal.

Coal drying and passivation process

The capacity and effectiveness of a fluidized multi-bed process for the direct reduction of broad size-range metallic oxides, such as ion oxide particles, can be materially improved by feeding the large-size particles into the uppermost zone and the fine-particle material such as bag dust to the lowest zone of a multiple bed reducer. The larger particles in the upper zones tend to restrain the fine particles from being carried out of the reducer by upwardly flowing reducing gas. In the lower zone location, complete reduction of the fine oxide particles is much more effective, as the reaction is initiated by the fresh reducing gas, which is normally high purity hydrogen.

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Princeton, NJ, United States of America

William Volk