Process for the gasification of raw carboniferous materials

Claim 1

A process for gasification of a liquid or solid carbon-containing material which comprises maintaining a body of water in the liquid phase in a reaction zone, said liquid body of water containing a catalyst consisting of a water-soluble salt catalytically active to accelerate the gasification of the carbon-containing material to carbon monoxide and hydrogen, dissolved ionogenically in the body of water, maintaining the body of water at a reaction temperature for gasification of the carbon-containing material and sufficient pressure to retain the body of water in the liquid phase, the reaction temperature in the reaction zone is below the melting temperature of the catalytically active salt at the pressure prevailing in the reaction zone and the reaction temperature is above the critical temperature of pure H 2 O, introducing the carbon-containing material into the body of water, said body of water being in the liquid phase and having ionogenically dissolved therein the catalytically active salt to accelerate the gasification to convert at least part of the carbon of the carbon-containing material to gaseous products leaving an unconverted residue, releasing the gaseous products together with some water in vapor form from the reaction zone, discharging the residue from the reaction zone, introducing make-up water and catalyst into the body of water, and introducing additional carbon-containing material into the body of water in the liquid phase containing ionogenically dissolved catalyst salt for further conversion into gaseous products.