Carbonaceous material with high characteristics of surface area and activity and process for producing the same

Claim 1

A continuous process for the production of carbonaceous material with high properties of surface area, porosity and surface activity, comprising grinding pit coal, drying and heating the ground coal in a first stage at a temperature of 200° to 300° C. for 15 to 120 minutes by fluidizing the ground coal with gas consisting essentially of 50 to 100% by volume air, 0 to 50% by volume steam and 0 to 50% by volume nitrogen in addition to that present in said air thereby to produce a dried and heated material; heating said material by fluidization in a second heating stage with a fluidizing gas that is initially 0 to 20% by volume air, 0 to 50% by volume steam, and 50 to 100% by volume nitrogen in addition to that present in any supplied air, at 400° to 600° C. for 10 to 60 minutes, thereby to produce a further heated material and off-gases; cooling said off-gases to produce condensed tar and residual gases; passing the further heated material from said second heaating stage to a third heating stage, still further heating the material by fluidization in said third heating stage with a fluidizing gas that is initially 0 to 70% by volume air and 30 to 100% nitrogen in addition to that present in any supplied air, at 800° to 1100° C. for 10 to 60 minutes with the production of off-gases; recycling to said second heating stage as fluidizing gas 10 to 95% by volume of said residual gases; recycling to said third heating stage as fluidizing gas 10 to 95% by volume of said off-gases from said third heating stage; replacing said fluidizing gases in said second and third heating stages substantially entirely with said recycled residual gases and off-gases, respectively, by the time said process is fully on-steam; and cooling said still further heated material below a temperature of 100° C. to produce a particulate carbonaceous material having the following properties: ______________________________________ average size of the particles 0.4 to 3.0 mm lump density 0.20 to 0.76 g/cm.sup.3 composition in per cent by weight: volatile matter 1.0 - 3.0 ash 6.0 - 12.0 total sulphur 0.2 - 1.0 carbon 80 - 90 hydrogen 1.0 - 2.0 heat value 6000 - 8000 kcal/kg surface area 30 - 300 m.sup.2 /g. ______________________________________