CONTINUOUS PROCESSES AND EQUIPMENT FOR TREATING SOLID SUBSTANCES IN GENERAL, WITH SPECIFIC APPLICATIONS FOR COAL AND SHALES GASIFICATION AND DIRECT REDUCTION OF IRON ORE

摘要

The present invention relates to a process and equipment for the continuous treatment of solid substances in general, with specific applications for the gasification of coals and shales and direct reduction of iron ores. The equipment comprises closed vessels to which working pressure may be applied internally equipped with systems of deflectors which make them capable of the treating of solid substances in a continuous manner even when they are in the form of damp or clayey compositions, the said substances are fed into the vessels in moving beds or layers under gravity, in a downward direction, and are contacted with gases or vapors generated in the treatment per se and/or introduced into the vessels and circulate co-currently or counter-currently to the solid substance flow. The equipment is especially suitable for the thermal treatment of said substances, releasing the gases and vapors form the layers, of any thicknesses, of said substances in the downward movement, provided with devices for the entrapment, contact and circulation of gases released in the thermal treatment, and also suitable for the thermal treatment of said substances, mixed with other solid substances, to cause chemical reactions with same and/or with the circulating gases.