Manufacture of gas mixtures containing carbon monoxide and hydrogen

Claim 1

THE PROCESS OF PRODUCING CARBON MONOXIDE AND HYDROGEN WHICH COMPRISES PASSING STEAM UPWARDLY THROUGH A DENSE FLUIDIZED BED OF FINELY DIVIDED CARBONACEOUS SOLIDS OF FLUIDIZABLE PARTICLE SIZE MAINTAINED IN A GASIFICATION ZONE AT GASIFICATION CONDITIONS OF TEMPERATURE AND PRESSURE IN THE PRESENCE OF FLUIDIZABLE PARTICLES OF A METAL OXIDE WHICH OXIDIZES CARBONACEOUS MATERIALS AT THE GASIFICATION CONDITIONS AND WHICH HAS A LOWER BUOYANCY IN GAS THAN THAT OF THE SOLID GASIFICATION RESIDUE OF SAID CARBONACEOUS SOLIDS, SAID METAL OXIDE BEING ADDED IN AMOUNTS AND AT A TEMPERATURE SUFFICIENT TO SUPPLY AT LEAST A SUBSTANTIAL PORTION OF THE HEAT REQUIRED TO MAINTAIN SAID GASIFICATION TEMPERATURE, WITHDRAWING A GAS CONTAINING CARBON MONOXIDE AND HYDROGEN UPWARDLY FROM SAID BED, PASSING THE STEAM UPWARDLY THROUGH THE DENSE FLUIDIZED BED AT A VELOCITY SUCH THAT METAL OXIDE PARTICLES OF REDUCED OXYGEN CONTENT ARE CONCENTRATED IN THE LOWER PORTION THEREOF TO A RELATIVELY GREATER EXTENT THAN IN THE UPPER PORTIONS OF SAID FLUIDIZED BED, WITHDRAWING A STREAM OF SOLIDS FROM THE LOWER PORTION OF THE FLUIDIZED BED, PASSING SAID STREAM TO A DENSE FLUIDIZED BED OF FINELY DIVIDED METAL OXIDE, PASSING AIR UPWARDLY THROUGH SAID SECOND NAMED BED AT CONDITION ADAPTED TO REOXIDIZE SAID WITHDRAWN METAL OXIDE BY AN EXOTHERMIC REOXIDATION REACTION, AND RETURNING REOXIDIZED METAL OXIDE FROM SAID SECOND NAMED BED TO SAID FIRST NAMED BED,