Patent ID: 7271201

Claim:
A method for using heat of a Fischer-Tropsch synthesis reactor to create dry fuel feedstocks, wherein the method comprises: a. exchanging heat from steam produced by a Fischer-Tropsch synthesis of high molecular weight hydrocarbons to raise a temperature of an initial nitrogen gas to the temperature between about 212 degrees Fahrenheit to about 350 degrees Fahrenheit forming a heated nitrogen gas; b. mixing the heated nitrogen gas with a flue gas to form a twice heated nitrogen mixture at a temperature of at least 572 degrees Fahrenheit, wherein the flue gas is formed in a heater by combustion of a fuel in air; c. passing the twice heated nitrogen mixture through a pulverized fuel source to raise the temperature of the pulverized fuel source to a temperature between about 180 degrees Fahrenheit and about 220 degrees Fahrenheit, and form a gas/particulate mixture of nitrogen, steam, and pulverized fuel source, wherein the gas/particulate mixture has a ratio of gas to particulate between 40:1 and 150:1 in cubic feet of gas per pound of pulverized fuel source; d. filtering the pulverized fuel source from the gas/particulate mixture forming a stream of steam and nitrogen and a dried fuel feedstock; and e. separating the stream of steam and nitrogen into a discharge stream and a recycle stream, wherein the recycle stream mixes with additional nitrogen for use in as the nitrogen gas for repeating the method.