Separation of gas from solids

In a method for charging a plurality of coke oven chambers of a coke oven battery with preheated coal particles by conveying a mixture of said coal particles and a carrier gas through a primary pipeline which communicates with each of the coke oven chambers of said battery through a plurality of branch pipelines, passing at least a portion of said mixture from said primary pipeline into a branch pipeline communicating with a coke oven chamber to be charged while the remaining portion of said mixture continues to be conveyed in said primary pipeline downstream from said branch pipeline, and removing a portion of said carrier gas from said mixture in said branch pipeline prior to introducing said mixture into said coke oven chamber to be charged by said branch pipeline;

• the improvement comprising reintroducing the carrier gas removed from said branch pipeline into the primary pipeline conveying the remaining portion of said mixture at a point downstream from where that portion of said mixture in the primary pipeline was passed into said branch pipeline.