A process for the fixed-bed pressure gasification of lignite

The invention relates to a process for the fixed-bed pressure gasification of raw lignite, in which, when higher water contents are used and higher throughput rates are realised, the features inherent to the basic principle of the process, such as an increase in the specific steam consumption and coal consumption, are compensated. A further object of the invention is to dispense with the pretreatment stages connected with the use of water-rich coals, such as, for example, drying and briquetting, whereby the process sequence is heavily burdened economically. The invention comprises compensating the known disadvantages of fixed-bed gasification, which result at high specific shaft loading, high water content of the feed coal, low cut height of the fixed bed and unduly small specific surface area of the grain mixture, by adaptation of the steam/oxygen ratio and thus applying the process principle in a field of use not hitherto exploited. The process is applicable to the manufacture of gas from coal for the most diverse fields of use, up to a pressure of 5 MPa.