PATENTS

      4.  AHRENS, A. [Gas From Lignite.]  French Patent 838,918, Mar. 20, 1939. Chem. Abs., vol. 33, 1939, p. 7082.

Gas for the manufacture of synthetic liquid fuel is made by passing lignite or like fuel in an exteriorly heated retort through a drying zone, a carbonizing zone, a degassing zone, a reduction zone, and then a zone for the production of water gas by steam introduced from below.  The water gas produced in the last zone is introduced wholly or partly from the above into the reduction zone of the retort.