Volatile fuel production and apparatus therefor

Claim 1

THE PROCESS OF PRODUCING VOLATILE FUELS FROM CARBONACEOUS SOLIDS WHICH COMPRISES MOVING A CONTINUOUS COLUMN OF SUBSTANTIALLY UNHEATED AND COARSELY SUBDIVIDED CARBONACEOUS SOLIDS UPWARDLY THROUGH A CONFINED TREATING ZONE, SUPPLYING A GASIFORM MATERIAL RICH IN COMBUSTIBLE CONSTITUENTS AND SUBSTANTIALLY FREE OF FREE OXYGEN TO THE TOP OF SAID COLUMN AT A TEMPERATURE HIGH ENOUGH FOR THE PRODUCTION OF VOLATILE FUELS FROM SAID SOLIDS, PASSING SAID GASIFORM MATERIAL DOWNWARDLY THROUGH SAID COLUMN COUNTERCURRENTLY TO AND IN DIRECT HEAT EXCHANGE WITH SAID COLUMN, WITHDRAWING SAID MATERIAL FROM A LOWER PORTION OF SAID TREATING ZONE AT A TEMPERATURE SUBSTANTIALLY BELOW SAID FIRST NAMED TEMPERATURE, REDUCING THE PARTICLE SIZE AND WITHDRAWING SUBDIVIDED SOLIDS FROM AND UPPER PORTION OF SAID TREATING ZONE AT A RELATIVELY HIGH TEMPERATURE INTERMEDIATE BETWEEN SAID FIRST AND SECOND NAMED TEMPERATURES, PASSING SAID WITHDRAWN SOLIDS DIRECTLY TO A SECOND CONFINED TREATING ZONE SUBSTANTIALLY AT SAID INTERMEDIATE TEMPERATURE, MAINTAINING SAID WITHDRAWN SOLIDS IN SAID SECOND TREATING ZONE AT A TEMPERATURE AT LEAST AS HIGH AS SAID FIRST NAMED TEMPERATURE AND IN THE FORM OF A TURBULENT MASS OF SOLIDS FLUIDIZED BY AN UPWARDLY FLOWING GASEOUS