Method for beneficiating by carbonaceous refuse

A method for beneficiating a feed stream essentially including agglomerates consisting essentially of carbonaceous particles, clay particles and water, said method including the steps of:

• heating the feed stream in an amount sufficient to liberate the water from said feed stream, including said agglomerates, and simultaneously agitating the feed stream to deagglomerate the heated agglomerates to form discrete particles essentially consisting of carbonaceous particles having a particle size of generally plus two microns and clay particles having a particle size of generally minus two microns;
• separating said heated deagglomerated feed stream, including said discrete particles, to form a plurality of different size classifications of granular particle fractions, said fractions comprise a generally plus two micron carbonaceous particle fraction and a generally minus two micron clay particle fraction;
• recovering said generally plus two micron carbonaceous particle fraction;
• said separating comprises subjecting the heated deagglomerated feed stream to classification in at least one air classifier to form a first fraction comprised of solid particles having a size of about plus eight mesh and a second fraction comprised of a dust laden gas fraction;
• treating the dust laden gas fraction in another air classifier to form a coarse particle fraction and a fine particle fraction;
• and
• recovering said coarse particle fraction for use as a carbonaceous fuel.