Processing carbonaceous solids

Claim 1

THE PROCESS OF BENEFICIATING CARBONACEOUS SOLIDS IN THE FORM OF FINELY DIVIDED DE-ASHED AND CARBONIZED COAL COMPRISING PASSING A MASS OF SAID SOLIDS SUBSTANTIALLY CONTINUOUSLY DOWNWARDLY IN A FLUIDIZED STATE THROUGH A STATIONARY POROUS MASS OF SUBSTANTIALLY UNIFORMLY SIZED, RELATIVELY LARGESIZE HEAT-RESISTANT SOLIDS CONFINED IN A REACTION CHAMBER, WHILE PASSING A STREAM OF HOT, INITIALLY STRONGLY REDUCING GAS UPWARDLY THERETHROUGH IN COUNTER CURRENT CONTACT WITH THE SAID CARBONACEOUS SOLIDS, INTRODUCING INTO THE GAS STREAM DURING ITS CONTACT WITH SAID CARBONACEOUS SOLIDS IN SAID REACTOR A RELATIVELY SMALL AMOUNT OF A COMBUSTION SUPPORTING GAS AND PROMOTING COMBUSTION REACTIONS IN SAID STREAM IN CONTACT WITH THE LATTER SOLIDS, CONTROLLING THE SUPPLY OF SAID COMBUSTIONSUPPORTING GAS SO AS TO GENERATE THE HEAT IN THE REACTOR WHILE MAINTAINING THE RESULTING REACTING GAS REDUCING, DISCHARGING THE RESULTING REDUCING GAS STREAM OVERHEAD, SUBSTANTIALLY CONTINUOUSLY DISCHARGING THE THUS TREATED CARBONACEOUS SOLIDS FROM BENEATH THE MASS OF SAID LARGE-SIZE SOLIDS WHILE CONTINUOUSLY FEEDING FRESH DE-ASHED AND CARBONIZED COAL TO BE TREATED TO THE REACTOR ABOVE THE LATTER MASS, SYNCHRONIZING THE FEED AND DISCHARGE OF SAID CARBONACEOUS SOLIDS SO THAT A CONTINUOUS DEEP BED OF THE LATTER SOLIDS IS MAINTAINED IN SAID REACTOR, SAID BED EXTENDING OVER THE ENTIRE CROSSSECTIONAL AREA OF SAID CHAMBER FROM AN UPPER POINT SUBSTANTIALLY ABOVE SAID BED THROUGH SAID BED TO A LOWER POINT SUBSTANTIALLY BELOW SAID BED, AND MAINTAINING THE LATTER BED IN A FLUIDIZED STATE OVER ITS ENTIRE HEIGHT BY CONTROLLING THE VELOCITY OF THE GASEOUS STREAM PASSING THERETHROUGH.