Carbon separation

Claim 1

In a continuous process for producing clean synthesis gas, fuel gas, or reducing gas by the partial oxidation of a hydrocarbonaceous fuel with a free-oxygen containing gas in the presence of a temperature moderator in a gas generating zone to produce an effluent gas stream comprising H 2 , CO, CO 2 , H 2 O, unreacted articulate carbon and at least one gas from the group H 2 S, COS, CH 4 , N 2 and Ar; contacting said hot effluent gas stream with water in a gas contacting zone to cool said effluent gas stream and to remove at least a portion of said particulate carbon, thereby producing a dispersion of particulate carbon and water; mixing a liquid organic extractant which is substantially immiscible with water with said particulate carbon-water dispersion in a mixing zone, thereby producing a liquid feed mixture of particulate carbon, water and liquid organic extractant; and separating said liquid feed mixture by gravity into clarified water and a dispersion of particulate carbon and liquid organic extractant, which dispersion floats on said clarified water at the interface level; the improvement for separating said liquid feed mixture into said clarified water and said dispersion of particulate carbon and liquid organic extractant comprising: 1. introducing said liquid feed mixture of particulate carbon, water and liquid organic extractant into a closed vessel substantially filled with liquid by way of a horizontal radial nozzle located along the vertical axis of said vessel below said interface level and with said radial nozzle uniformly distributing said liquid feed 360°, wherein said vessel has a horizontal circular cross-section and is at a temperature in the range of about 212° to 650° F. and at a pressure high enough to keep said liquid organic extractant in liquid phase; 2. simultaneously with the introducing of said liquid feed mixture in (1), continuously separating by gravity the liquid feed mixture within said vessel into two liquid phases comprising a bottom layer of said clarified water and a top layer comprising said particulate carbonliquid organic extractant dispersion, thereby substantially filling and vessel, wherein said top layer floats on and contacts said bottom layer at the interface level, and said top layer has a carbon content in the range of about 0.5 to 9.0 weight percent; 3. simultaneously with the separating that takes plane in (2), removing a continuous stream of said clarified water from an outlet in the bottom of said vessel and separate continuous stream of particulate carbon-liquid organic extractant dispersion from an outlet in the top of said vessel; 4. recycling said clarified water to said gas contacting zone to cool said effluent gas stream and to produce said dispersion of particulate carbon and water; 5. mixing said particulate carbon-liquid extractant dispersion from (3) with heavy hydrocarbonaceous fuel oil and introducing the resulting mixture into a distillation zone; `6. distilling off liquid organic extractant and recycling same to said mixing zone to produce said liquid feed mixture of particulate carbon, water and liquid organic extractant; and 7. introducing a bottoms slurry of carbon and heavy hydrocarbonaceous fuel from said distillation zone into said gas generating zone as a portion of the feed.