Elutriation in a fluid coking process

In an integrated coking and gasification process which comprises the steps of:

• a. reacting a carbonaceous material having a Conradson carbon content of at least 5 weight percent in a coking zone containing a bed of fluidized solids maintained under fluid coking conditions to form coke, said coke depositing on said fluidized solids;
• b. introducing a portion of said solids with the coke deposition thereon into a heating vessel comprising an elongated lower portion and an upper enlarged portion containing a fluidized bed of solids maintained at a greater temperature than the temperature of said coking zone, to heat said portion of solids;
• c. recycling a first portion of heated solids from said heating vessel to said coking zone;
• d. introducing a second portion of heated solids from said heating vessel to a fluidized bed gasification zone;
• e. reacting said second portion of heated solids in said gasification zone with steam and an oxygen-containing gas to produce a hydrogen-containing gaseous stream,
• f. removing said hydrogen-containing gaseous stream including entrained solids from said gasification zone;
• g. adding a portion of solids to said hydrogen-containing gas of step (f),
• the improvement which comprises:
• h. introducing into said lower elongated portion the solids-containing gaseous stream resulting from step (g), said gaseous stream being introduced as a relatively high velocity gaseous stream through a conduit having an outlet of smaller internal diameter than the internal diameter of said elongated lower portion;
• i. reducing the velocity of said gaseous stream by upwardly flowing said stream from said outlet to said upper portion of said heating vessel, whereby the larger particles of the solids are selectively removed by gravitational forces from said gaseous stream and form a dense bed below said outlet of said gaseous stream in said lower heating vessel portion;
• j. maintaining the bed in said lower heater portion fluidized by passage of a fluidizing gas therethrough, and
• k. continuously re-entraining at least a portion of the solids from said lower heater bed into said gaseous stream.