System for withdrawing and dewatering slag from gasification equipment

A conveying lockhopper for use with a gasification system, said conveying lockhopper comprising:

• a housing, said housing being substantially cylindrical in shape and inclined with spaced apart upper and lower ends;
• an inlet aperture disposed at the lower end of said housing and configured to receive slag from the gasification system;
• an outlet aperture disposed at the upper end of said housing;
• a rotatable shaft disposed within said housing, said shaft comprising a plurality of threads, said threads being configured on said shaft to convey the slag from the lower end of said housing toward the upper end of said housing as said shaft rotates;
• and
• wherein slag enters said housing through said inlet aperture, said shaft conveys the slag towards said outlet aperture, and the slag exits said housing through said outlet aperture.

An apparatus for moving material, said apparatus comprising:

• a conveyor, said conveyor being inclined and having spaced apart ends;
• an inlet disposed at one end of said conveyor, said inlet configured to receive the material;
• an outlet disposed at the other end of said conveyor, said outlet being configured to expel the material from said conveyor;
• and
• wherein the material is introduced to said conveyor by way of said inlet, said conveyor transports the material toward said outlet, and the material is expelled from said conveyor through said outlet.

A system for withdrawing and dewatering slag from gasification equipment, said system comprising:

• a gasifier for producing syngas from-feedstocks;
• an injector for injecting feedstocks and oxygen into said gasifier;
• a syngas cooling apparatus for receiving and cooling the syngas;
• a conveying lockhopper configured to receive slag from said syngas cooling apparatus, said conveying lockhopper being configured at an inclination to receive the slag from said syngas cooling apparatus at a first elevation and expel the slag at a second elevation that is greater than the first elevation.

A method of withdrawing and dewatering slag from a gasification system, said method comprising:

• receiving slag from the gasification system into an inlet of a conveying lockhopper;
• conveying the slag from the inlet of the conveying lockhopper to an outlet of the conveying lockhopper, wherein the outlet is at a higher elevation than the inlet;
• and
• discharging the slag from the outlet.