Patent ID: RE40419

Claim:
A process for producing a synthesis gas for use as a gaseous fuel or as feed into Fischer-Tropsch reactor to produce a liquid fuel, the improvement comprising: forming a liquid suspension slurry of particles of carbonaceous material in water; feeding said suspension slurry and hydrogen from an internal source into a hydro-gasification reactor under conditions of super-atmospheric pressure without a reaction catalyst and at a temperature under said pressure whereby methane rich producer gases are generated; feeding the methane rich producer gases from the hydro-gasification reactor into a steam pyrolytic reformer under conditions whereby synthesis gas comprising hydrogen end carbon monoxide are generated; feeding a portion of the hydrogen generated by the steam pyrolytic reformer into the hydro-gasification reactor as said hydrogen from an internal source; and either utilizing said synthesis gas generated by the steam pyrolytic reformer for process heat or as fuel for an engine to produce electricity, or feeding said synthesis gas into the Fischer-Tropsch type reactor under conditions whereby a liquid fuel is produced.