Gasification of solid carbonaceous materials

Claim 1

IN A PROCESS FOR THE TREATMENT OF A SOLID CARBONACEOUS MATERIAL WITH A REACTANT GAS UNDER REACTION CONDITIONS WHEREIN PARTICLES OF SAID CARBONACEOUS MATERIAL OF A FLUIDIZABLE SIZE RANGE ARE MAINTAINED AS A DENSE PHASE FLUIDIZED MASS IN A CLOSED REACTION ZONE BY THE ACTION OF A REACTANT GAS AND PRODUCT GAS PASSING UPWARD THERETHROUGH WHEREBY SAID PRODUCT GAS AND A CHAR RESIDUE OF VARIOUS PARTICLE SIZES ARE OBTAINED, THE IMPROVEMENT WHICH COMPRISES SELECTIVELY ELIMINATING ASH FROM THE REACTION ZONE BY CONTINUOUSLY WITHDRAWING A PORTION OF SAID MASS COMPRISING CHAR OF VARIOUS PARTICLE SIZES FROM SAID REACTION ZONE, SEPARATING FROM SAID PORTION AGGLOMERATED SOLID PARTICLES HAVING AN AVERAGE DIAMETER LARGER THAN THE PARTICLES OF THE FRESH FEED, SEPARATING FROM SAID PORTION SOLID PARTICLES OF THE SAME SIZE RANGE AS THE PARTICLES OF THE RRESH FEED, SEPARATING FROM SAID PORTION SOLID PARTICLES SMALLER THAN THE PARTICLES OF THE FRESH FEED, AND RETURNING ONLY THE PARTICLES OF THE SAME SIZE RANGE AS THE PARTICLES OF THE FRESH FEED TO THE REACTION ZONE INTO ADMIXTURE WITH THE PARTICLES OF THE FRESH FEED.