Method and apparatus for contacting particulate coal and a deactivating fluid
AssigneeAtlantic Richfield Company
InventorsJames L. Skinner, J. David Matthews
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method and apparatus for contacting particulate coal and a deactivating fluid, the apparatus comprising a mist contacting vessel wherein the coal and a deactivating fluid mist are contacted to produce a coal-deactivating fluid mixture. A method for producing the coal-deactivating fluid mixture is disclosed.
Claims8
An apparatus for intimately contacting a dried low rank coal selected from the group consisting of sub-bituminous, lignite and brown coals with a deactivating fluid to reduce the tendency of said dried low rank coals to spontaneously ignite, said apparatus comprising:
- a. a contacting vessel, having a particulate coal inlet and a particulate coal outlet, said particulate coal inlet being positioned so that dried particulate coal charged to said contacting vessel through said particulate coal inlet falls through said contacting vessel to said particulate coal outlet;
- and,
- b. at least one deactivating fluid mist injection means positioned to inject a mist of a deactivating fluid into said contacting vessel between said particulate coal inlet and said particulate coal outlet to intimately contact said particulate coal with said deactivating fluid as said particulate coal falls through said mist of said deactivating fluid.
A method for intimately contacting a dried low rank coal selected from the group consisting of sub-bituminous, lignite and brown coals with a deactivating fluid to reduce the tendency of said dried low rank coals to spontaneously ignite, said method consisting essentially of:
- a. charging said coal to a deactivating fluid mist zone so that said coal falls through said mist zone;
- b. maintaining a mist of a deactivating fluid in said mist zone;
- c. intimately contacting said coal and said mist to absorb a sufficient quantity of said deactivating fluid onto said coal to produce a deactivated coal as said coal falls through said mist zone;
- and,
- d. recovering said deactivated coal.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.