Partial oxidation process for slurries of solid fuel

In a continuous process for the manufacture of gas mixtures comprising H.sub.2 and CO and containing at least one material from the group CO.sub.2, H.sub.2 O, N.sub.2, CH.sub.4, H.sub.2 S and COS, and entrained matter by the partial oxidation of a feedstream comprising a pumpable slurry of solid carbonaceous fuel in a liquid carrier and a feedstream of free-oxygen containing gas optionally in admixture with a temperature moderator, said partial oxidation occuring in the reaction zone of a free-flow gas generator at an autogenous temperature in the range of about 1700.degree. to 3500.degree. F., and a pressure in the range of about 5 to 250 atmospheres, the improvement which comprises:

• (1) passing a stream of gaseous material from the group consisting of free-oxygen containing gas, steam, recycle product gas, and hydrocarbon gas through the central conduit of a burner mounted in the upper portion of said gas generator at a velocity in the range of about 76 feet per second to sonic velocity, said burner comprising radially spaced concentric central, second, third, and outer cylindrical conduits providing therebetween first, second, and outer concentric annular passages, said conduits and passages being closed at their upstream ends where feedstream inlets are provided and open at their downstream exit orifices for discharge;
• (2) simultaneously passing a pumpable slurry stream of solid carbonaceous fuel in a liquid carrier through said first annular passage at a velocity in the range of about 1 to 50 feet per second;
• (3) simultaneously passing a stream of free-oxygen containing gas through said second and outer annular passages at a velocity in the range of about 76 feet per second to sonic velocity;
• (4) mixing said feedstreams together prior to, at, or downstream from the outer conduit exit orifice to produce a mixture whose atoms of free-oxygen plus atoms of organically combined oxygen in the solid carbonaceous fuel per atoms of carbon in the solid carbonaceous fuel is in the range of about 0.5 to 1.95, and the weight ratio of H.sub.2 O/ fuel is in the range of about 0.1 to 3;
• and
• (5) reacting by partial oxidation the mixture from (4) in said reaction zone to produce said gas mixture.