Treatment of solid hydrocarbonaceous material

Claim 1

A PROCESS FOR THE TREATMENT OF SOLID HYDROCARBONACEOUS MATERIAL WHICH COMPRISES CONTINUQUSLY SUPPLYING A STREAM OF FINELY DIVIDED SOLID HYDROCARBONACEOUS MATERIAL OF RELATIVELY HIGH ASH CONTENT OF A CONFINED DISTILLING ZONE AND PASSING IT IN A DENSE MASS DOWNWARDLY THROUGH SAID ZONE IN DIRECT CONTACT WITH A GASIFORM HEATSUPPLYING MEDIUM COMPRISING SUPERHEATED STREAM AT DISTILLING TEMPERATURE, WITHDRAWING A STREAM OF HOT FINELY DIVIDED DISTILLATION RESIDUE FROM SAID DISTILLING ZONE AND COMMINGLING THE SAME WITH A HOT GASEOUS FLUIDIZING MEDIUM, TRANSFERRING SAID RESIDUE STREAM FLUIDIZED IN SAID GASEOUS FLUIDIZING MEDIUM AND SUBSTANTIALLY WITHOUT INTENTIONAL COOLING TO A SEPARATE CONFINED COMBUSTION ZONE AND THEREIN BURNING SUBSTANTIALLY ALL UNDISTILLED COMBUSTIBLE MATERIAL FROM SAID DISTILLATION RESIDUE WHILE CONDUCTING THE LATTER IN A DENSE MASS DOWNWARDLY IN DIRECT CONTACT WITH A FREE OXYGENCONTAINING GAS, INTRODUCING SAID SUPERHEATED STREAM TO THE LOWER PORTION OF SAID DISTILLING ZONE AND SAID OXYGEN-CONTAINING GAS TO THE LOWER PORTION OF SAID COMBUSTION ZONE EACH AT A RATE AT WHICH THE SOLID MATERIAL IN THE DENSE MASS WITHIN EACH OF SAID ZONES IS MAINTAINED IN FINELY SUBDIVIDED AND FREELY FLOWING STATE, WITHDRAWING A VAPOROUS STREAM OF DISTILLATION PRODUCTS AND GASIFORM HEAT-SUPPLYING MEDIUM FROM THE UPPER PORTION OF SAID DISTILLING ZONE WHILE INDEPENDENTLY THEREOF DISCHARGING HOT COMBUSTION GASES FROM THE UPPER PORTION OF SAID SEPARATE COMBUSTION ZONE, PASSING A STREAM OF HIGHLY HEATED NONCOMBUSTIBLE RESIDUE FROM SAID COMBUSTION ZONE SUBSTANTIALLY WITHOUT INTENTIONAL COOLING TO A SEPARATE AND CONFINED HEATING ZONE AND THEREIN COOLING SAID NON-COMBUSTIBLE RESIDUE BY DIRECT CONTACT WITH WATER IN AN AMOUNT IN EXCESS OF THAT REQUIRED TO GENERATE SAID SUPERHEATED STEAM, CONTINUOUSLY FEEDING A STREAM OF THE RESULTANT SUPERHEATED STREAM FROM SAID HEATING ZONE DIRECTLY TO SAID DISTILLING ZONE, AND DISCHARGING A SLURRY OF FINELY DIVIDED SOLID RESIDUE AND WATER A A SUBSTANTIALLY LOWERED TEMPERATURE FROM SAID HEATING ZONE.