Conversion of coal into liquid fuels

Claim 1

In a process for preparation of liquid fuels from coal by solvation of comminuted coal in a liquid hydrocarbon solvent derived in the process as hereinafter defined and in the presence of hydrogen, subjecting products from said solvation step to fluidized catalytic cracking with a solid cracking catalyst whereby an inactivating carbonaceous deposit is laid down on the catalyst, separating cracked hydrocarbon products from catalyst so inactivated, regenerating said separated inactivated catalyst by fluidizing the same in air to burn the said carbonaceous deposit, separating flue gas resultant from said burning, returning the so regenerated catalyst to the fluidized catalytic cracking step, fractionating said cracked hydrocarbon products to provide a bottoms fraction which is a thermally stable, highly polycyclic aromatic residual oil, transferring said residual oil to said solvation step as the liquid hydrocarbon solvent therein and separating ash derived from said coal from hydrocarbons during the said process; the improvement in separating ash from hydrocarbons which comprises subjecting said solvation products admixed with ash derived in said solvation step to fluidized catalytic cracking as aforesaid, separating the said ash admixed with inactivated catalyst from cracked hydrocarbon products, subjecting the mixture of ash and inactivated catalyst to said regeneration step, removing ash from said regeneration step with said flue gas, and separating said ash from said flue gas.