Production of synthetic transportation fuels from carbonaceous material using self-sustained hydro-gasification

A substantially self-sustaining process for producing a liquid fuel from carbonaceous feed, comprising:

• grinding said carbonaceous material in water to form a suspension slurry of carbonaceous particles;
• heating the slurry with superheated steam from a steam generator;
• feeding hydrogen from an internal source, the suspension slurry, and the superheated steam into a hydro-gasification reactor under conditions of a pressure of about 20 to 50 atmospheres without a reaction catalyst and at a temperature in the range of about 700 to 1200 degrees Celsius, and in amounts whereby methane rich producer gases are generated exothermally;
• feeding the methane rich producer gases from the hydro-gasification reactor and said superheated steam into a steam pyrolytic reformer under conditions whereby synthesis gas comprising hydrogen and carbon monoxide are generated;
• feeding a portion of the hydrogen generated by the steam pyrolytic reformer, obtained through a hydrogen purification filter, into the hydro-gasification reactor, the hydrogen therefrom constituting said hydrogen from an internal source;
• feeding the remainder of the synthesis gas generated by the steam pyrolytic reformer into the Fischer-Tropsch reactor under conditions whereby a liquid fuel is produced exothermally;
• and
• transferring exothermic heat from the hydro-gasification reactor and Fischer-Tropsch reactor to the steam generator and the steam pyrolytic reformer, whereby said process is substantially self-sustaining.