Process and apparatus for distilling solid carbonaceous materials

Claim 1

A PROCESS FOR PRODUCING FLUID PRODUCTS FROM COMMINUTED SOLID CARBONACEOUS MATERIAL WHICH COMPRISES CONTINUOUSLY PASSING A COLUMN OF SAID MATERIAL DOWNWARDLY IN COUTERCURRENT CONTACT WITH A STREAM OF GASIFORM FLUID THROUGH A CONFINED VERTICALLY ELONGATED CONVERSION ZONE AND THEREIN SUBJECTING SAID MATERIAL TO ENDOTHERMIC CONVERSION WITH FORMATION OF GASIFORM CONVERSION PRODUCTS AND CARBON-CONTAINING RESIDUAL PARTICLES, LATERNALLY EXPANDING AND UPWARDLY DISENGAGING SAID GASIFORM PRODUCTS FROM SAID COLUMN OF MATERIAL INTO A CONFINED PRODUCT SEPARATING ZONE IN OPEN COMMUNICATION WITH THE UPPER END OF SAID CONVERSION ZONE AND CONTINUUOUSLY REMOVING A PRODUCT STREAM FROM THE UPPER PORTION OF SAID PRODUCT SEPARATING ZONE, REVERSING THE DIRECTION OF MOVEMENT OF SAID RESIDUAL PARTICLES ISSUING FROM THE LOWER END OF THE CONVERSION ZONE AND PASSING THEM UPWARDLY THROUGH AN OXIDATION ZONE AS A DENSE MASS ANNULARLY SURROUNDING AND IN INDIRECT HEAT EXCHANGE RELATION WITH A MAJOR PORTION OF SAID CONVERSION ZONE, SUBJECTING TO PARTICLES IN THE ASCENDING DENSE MASS TO OXIDATION IN CONCURRENT CONTACT WITH A STREAM OF AN OXIDIZING GAS, LATERALLY EXPANDING AND UPWARDLY DISENGAGING THE RESULTANT GASEOUS OXIDATION PRODUCTS FROM THE RESULTANT RESIDUAL PARTICULATED DENSE MASS INTO A CONFINED GAS SEPARATING ZONE IN OPEN COMMUNICATION WITH THE UPPER END OF SAID OXIDATION ZONE AND SURROUNDING AN ELEVATED MINOR PORTION OF SAID CONVERSION ZONE, AND SEPARATELY DISCHARGING A STREAM OF SAID GASEOUS OXIDATION PRODUCTS FROM THE UPPER PORTION AND A STREAM OF SAID RESIDUAL DENSE MASS FROM A LOWER PORTION OF SAID GAS SEPARATING ZONE.