Preconditioning treatment of coal to minimize agglomeration

Claim 1

A method of preconditioning coal particles to substantially prevent agglomeration of said particles in a fluid-bed reaction zone of a reactor comprising: a. preheating a dense phase flow of said particles in the absence of oxygen to a first predetermined temperature between about 280° C and about 420° C for a preheat time sufficiently brief to avoid significant agglomeration of said particles; b. preheating an oxygen-containing gas to a temperature substantially equal to said first predetermined temperature; c. introducing said preheated particles and said preheated gas into a vertically elongated standpipe in an upwards direction, said gas having a superficial gas velocity greater than the free fall velocity of the largest of said coal particles, the amount of oxygen in said gas and said superficial gas velocity being controlled so that said oxygen is substantially consumed exothermically, the amount of said oxygen in said gas being between about 0.5 and about 6 weight percent of said particles the exothermic oxidation increasing the temperature of said particles up to 80° C per weight percent oxygen to said particles, said particles leaving said standpipe in about 20 seconds to about 300 seconds; d. regulating the oxidation temperature of said particles within said standpipe to a second predetermined temperature between about 380° C and about 480° C, a temperature within the plastic transformation-temperature of said particles; e. introducing said oxidized particles at said second predetermined temperature into a cooling zone wherein the temperature of said particles is regulated to a third predetermined temperature between about 300° C and about 400° C; f. pressurizing said oxidized particles to a pressure above the pressure in said reaction zone; and g. introducing said particles into said reaction zone, whereby agglomeration of said particles in said zone is substantially prevented as said particles react at reaction pressure with a reagent.

Claim 2

A method of preconditioning coal particles to substantially prevent agglomeration of said particles in a fluid-bed reaction zone of a reactor comprising: a. preheating a dense phase flow of said particles in the absence of oxygen to a first predetermined temperature between about 280° C and about 420° C for a preheat time sufficiently brief to avoid significant agglomeration of said particles; b. preheating an oxygen-containing gas to a temperature substantially equal to said first predetermined temperature; c. introducing said preheated particles and said preheated gas into a vertically elongated standpipe in an upwards direction, said gas having a superficial gas velocity greater than the free fall velocity of the largest of said coal particles, the amount of oxygen in said gas and said superficial gas velocity being controlled so that said oxygen is substantially consumed exothermically, the amount of said oxygen in said gas being between about 0.5 and about 6 weight percent of said particles the exothermic oxidation increasing the temperature of said particles up to 80° C per weight percent oxygen to said particles, said particles leaving said standpipe in about 20 seconds to about 300 seconds; d. regulating the oxidation temperature of said particles within said standpipe to a second predetermined temperature between about 380° C and about 480° C, a temperature within the plastic transformation-temperature of said particles; e. introducing said oxidized particles at said second predetermined temperature into a cooling zone wherein the temperature of said particles is regulated to a third predetermined temperature between about 300° C and about 400° C; f. pressurizing said oxidized particles to a pressure above the pressure in said reaction zone; and g. introducing said particles into said reaction zone, whereby agglomeration of said particles in said zone is substantially prevented as said particles react at reaction pressure with a reagent.

Claim 3

A method as defined in claim wherein said particles are agglomerating sub-bituminous or bituminous coal particles, said reagent is a hydrogen-containing, oxygen-free gas; said reaction zone operates at a reaction temperature between about 480° C and about 600° C, a hydrogen partial pressure between about 100 psi and about 1200 psi, and a solids residence time between about 3 minutes and about 1 hour; and saidoxidation time in said standpipe is between about 20 seconds and about 100 seconds.