Solvent refined coal process with zones of increasing hydrogen pressure

Claim 1

A PROCESS FOR PREPARING DEASHED SOLID AND LIQUID HYDROCARBONACEOUS FUEL FROM HYDROCARBONACEOUS FEED COAL CONTAINING ASH COMPRISING CONTACTING THE FEED COAL IN A SLURRY WITH A SOLVENT FOR THE HYDROCARBONACEOUS MATERIAL IN THE COAL WITH A CONTAMINANT CONTAINING HYDROGEN STREAM OBTAINED FROM THE DISSOLVER STEP DESCRIBED BELOW WITHOUT SCRUBBING OF CONTAMINANT GASES, PASSING THE SLURRY AND SAID CONTAMINANT CONTAINING HYDROGEN THROUGH A PREHEATER FOR A RESIDENCE TIME BETWEEN 0.01 AND 0.25 HOURS, SAID PREHEATER HAVING A LENGTH TO DIAMETER RATIO OF AT LEAST 100 TO INHIBIT BACKMIXING SO THAT AN INCREMENT OF SAID SLURRY GRADUALLY INCREASES IN TEMPERATURE TO A SAGE THROUGH THE PREHEATER FROM A LOW INLET TEMPERATURE TO A MAXIUM TEMPERATURE AT THE PREHEATER OUTLET, THE MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE AT THE PREHEATER OUTLET BEING 400* TO 525*C., THE VISCOSITY OF AN INCREMENT OF THE SLURRY IN PASSAGE THROUGH THE PREHEATER INCREASING INITIALLY TO A VALUE AT LEAST 20 TIMES THE VISCOSITY OF THE SOLVENT ALONE WHEN EACH IS MEASURED AT A TEMPERATURE OF 99*C., THE VISCOSITY OF THE SLURRY IN CONTINUED PASSAGE THROUGH THE PREHEATER SUBSEQUENTLY DROPPING TO A VALUE LOWER THAN 10 TIMES THE VISCOSITY OF THE SOLVENT ALONG WHEN EACH IS MEASURED AT 99*C., VISCOSITY OF SAID SLURRY FINALLY TENDING TO INCREASE TO A VALUE GREATER THAN 10 TIMES THAT OF THE SOLVENT ALONE WHEN EACH IS MEASURED AT 99C. AT THE EXIT TEMPERATURE OF SAID PREHEATER BUT THE SLURRY AND HYDROGEN CONTAINING CONTAMINANT GAS BEING REMOVED FROM SAID PREHEATER AFTER THE RELATIVE VISCOSITY DROPS TO A VALUE BELOW 10 BUT BEFORE THE RELATIVE VISCOSITY FINALLY INCREASES TO A VALUE OF 10 FLASHING HYDROGEN CONTAINING CONTAMINANT GASES FROM THE SLURRY, CHARGING RELATIVELY PURER HYDROGEN TO SAID SLURRY, REDUCING THE TEMPERATURE OF THE SLURRY AT LEAST 10*C. AFTER IT LEAVES THE PREHEATER TO A TEMPERATURE AT WHICHT THE VISCOSITY OF THE SLURRY DOES NOT INCREASE TO A VALUE ABOVE 10 TIMES THAT OF THE SOLVENT ALONE WHEN EACH IS MEASURED AT 99*C., PASSING THE COOLED SLURRY TO A DISSOLVER MAINTAINED AT A TEMPERATURE AT THE TWEEN 350 AND 475*C WHICH IS BELOW THE TEMPERATURE BEOUTLET OF THE PREHEATER, THE RESIDENCE TIME OF THE SLURRY IN THE DISSOLVER BEING GREATER THAN IN THE PREHEATER, THE HYDROGEN PARTIAL PRESSURE IN THE DISSOLVER BEING GREATER THAN IN THE PREHEATER, REMOVING THE SLURRY FROM THE DISSOLVER AND SEPARATING THE SLURRY INTO HYDROGEN CONTAINING CONTAMINANT GASES, A FRCTION WHICH IS LIQUID AT ROOM TEMPERATURE AND A DEASHED FRACTION WHICH IS SOLID AT ROOM TEMPERATURE, PASSING HYDROGENCONTAINING CONTAMINANT GASES TO THE PREHEATER, AND RECYCLING AT LEAST A PORTION OF SAID LIQUID FRACTION AS SOLVENT FOR SAID PREHEATER STEP.