# US 4,400,177 A · Fuels and methods for their production

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- Number: US 4,400,177 A
- Document ID: US4400177A
- Status: Granted
- Kind: A
- Application number: 06/342,055
- Filed: 1982-01-25
- Granted: 1983-08-23
- Earliest claimed: 1979-09-24
- Inventors: Eric C. Cottell
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US4400177A

## CPC

- C10L 1/324: {Dispersions containing coal, oil and water}
- C10L: FUELS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; NATURAL GAS; SYNTHETIC NATURAL GAS OBTAINED BY PROCESSES NOT COVERED BY SUBCLASSES C10G OR C10K; LIQUIFIED PETROLEUM GAS; USE OF ADDITIVES TO FUELS OR FIRES; FIRE-LIGHTERS

## Abstract

A stable fuel emulsion comprising water, coal and an oil component comprising a distillate oil and a residual oil stabilizing ingredient. The stable fuel is produced by forming a water/coal slurry, blending the distillate oil and stabilizing residual oil together, combining the slurry and oil blend and agitating the mixture. Further, a stable fuel emulsion comprising essentially only water and oil wherein the oil is comprised of a distillate oil component and a residual oil stabilizing ingredient. The stable fuel is produced by blending the distillate oil and the stabilizing residual oil together, combining the resulting blend with water and agitating the mixture.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A stable fuel emulsion comprising coal, distillate oil, greater than 3 weight percent water, and a stabilizing ingredient selected from the group consisting of No. 4 residual oil, No. 6 residual oil, other residual oils and combinations thereof.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The stable fuel emulsion of claim 1 wherein said stabilizing ingredient comprises between about 1% and about 30% by weight of said distillate oil.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The stable fuel emulsion of claim 1, wherein said water comprises about 20 weight percent.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The stable fuel emulsion of claim 1 wherein:
said water comprises about 20 weight percent of the emulsion;
said coal comprises about 50 weight percent of the emulsion;
said distillate oil component comprises about 25 weight percent of the emulsion; and,
said stabilizing ingredient comprises about 5 weight percent of the emulsion.

### Claim 5

A method of producing a stable fuel emulsion of coal, oil and water, the method comprising the steps of:
forming a slurry of water and coal, the water being greater than 3 weight percent of the slurry;
blending a stabilizing ingredient consisting of a residual oil component selected from the group consisting of No. 4 residual oil, No. 6 residual oil, other residual oils and combinations thereof with a distillate oil component, the residual oil component being between about 1% and about 30% by weight of the distillate oil component;
combining the slurry of coal and water with the blended oil components; and,
subjecting the resulting coal/oil/water mixture to agitation to form said stable fuel emulsion.

### Claim 6 (depends on 5)

The method of claim 5 wherein the agitation of the resulting coal/oil/water mixture is sufficient to cause cavitation thereof.

### Claim 7

A stable fuel emulsion comprising essentially only distillate oil, water, and a stabilizing ingredient selected from the group consisting of No. 4 residual oil, No. 6 residual oil, other residual oils and combinations thereof.

### Claim 8 (depends on 7)

The stable fuel emulsion of claim 7, wherein said water comprises less than 15 weight percent of the emulsion.

### Claim 9 (depends on 7)

The stable fuel emulsion of claim 7, wherein said stabilizing ingredient component comprises between about 1% and about 30% by weight of said distillate oil component.

### Claim 10 (depends on 7)

The stable fuel emulsion of claim 7, wherein said distillate oil is No. 2 distillate oil.

### Claim 11

A method of producing a stable fuel emulsion consisting essentially only of oil and water, the method comprising the steps of:
blending a stabilizing ingredient consisting of a residual oil component selected from the group consisting of No. 4 residual oil, No. 6 residual oil, other residual oils and combinations thereof with a distillate oil component to form a blend of these oils;
combining the resulting blend of oils with water; and,
agitating the water/oil combination to form the stable fuel emulsion.

### Claim 12 (depends on 11)

The method of claim 11, wherein the agitation of the water/oil combination is sufficient to cause cavitation.