Methods of producing fuels from solid materials

Claim 1

A process for producing fuel precursors comprising mixed metal carbide material, the process comprising the steps: (a) carbonizing at a pyrolyzing temperature a raw carbonaceous material to remove volatile matter therefrom and form carbon as coke or char; (b) mixing with said carbon a starting material selected from the group consisting of metal oxides, metal hydroxides, and mixtures thereof, said carbon being present in an amount sufficient to reduce said starting material to free metal and saturate said metal with carbon, such reduction proceeding by application of heat and removal of carbon oxides generated therein at an operating temperature sufficient to form from said metal and carbon a carbon-saturated molten metal; (c) mixing said carbon-saturated molten metal with excess of said coke or char in a finely divided form while maintaining such mixture at a temperature above the freezing point of the molten metal for a time sufficient to convert a major fraction of the mixture to a metal carbide material and leave a minor fraction of unconverted molten metal-rich solution and unconverted carbon; (d) removing and lowering the temperature of said carbide material, molten metal-rich solution and unconverted carbon in fine particulate form to give a product at which lower temperature the remaining molten material has become so viscous that migration of carbon or carbide particles is inhibited and at least a portion of said metal carbide material is capable of being formed into a metal carbide of higher carbon content, holding said product at said lower temperature for further conversion of said unconverted molten rich solution and unconverted carbon to a metal carbide, and for further conversion of said portion of metal carbide material formed in step (c) to a metal carbide comprising carbides of higher carbon content than said metal carbide material formed in step (c); (e) dividing and consolidating said product after the further conversion of step (d) into agglomerates for storage or handling; the agglomerates consisting of metal carbides and a substance selected from the group consisting of interstitial metal-rich phases, free carbon, and mixtures thereof and (f) cooling the agglomerates sufficiently to permit storage or shipment as fuel precursers.