Vibratory high pressure coal feeder having a helical ramp

Apparatus for feeding coal at an accurately controlled rate to a feeder tube adapted to be connected to a high pressure, heated, reactor tube, comprising:

• a. hopper means having top and bottom ends for receiving and transporting said coal in a first direction along a longitudinally extending axis;
• b. valve means for selectively closing the bottom end of said hopper means selectively to hold and selectively to release the coal along the axis for the flow of coal out the bottom of the hopper means past and around the valve means;
• c. pressure-tight housing means for selectively enclosing the hopper means in a closed pressurized space;
• d. container means in said closed pressurized space into which the bottom end of the hopper means extends, said container means having an inner surface forming a helical ramp along the wall thereof terminating at the upper end of said container means in a spout;
• e. feeder tube means connected through the bottom end of the high pressure housing means for receiving and transporting the coal from said spout;
• f. solenoid means for vibrating the container means to cause the coal continuously to move up the ramp in a stream at a predetermined, selectively variable rate and from the ramp to spill out of the spout into the feeder tube at the same rate in accordance with the amplitude of the vibration of the container means;
• g. means for supplying gas under pressure to the housing means for providing gas for the feeder tube for mixing with the coal means received thereby from the spout;
• and
• h. means for measuring the rate of coal flow through the hopper means.