AUSTRALIA Patents Act 1990 ORIGINAL COMPLETE SPECIFICATION STANDARD PATENT Invention title: Compacted Briquette The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to us: COMPACTED BRIQUETTE CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a divisional of Australian Application No 2012254962, which is a divisional of Australian Application No. 2011204914, which is a divisional of Australian 5 Application No. 2008202404 which is the Australian National Phase of PCT/US2008/056856 filed on 13 March 2008, which claims priority to US Provisional Patent Application No 60/894,591 filed 13 March 2007, and to US Provisional Patent Application No 60/980,780 filed 7 October 2007, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. 10 FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to compacted briquettes. More specifically, the present invention relates to a compacted briquette of dried carbonaceous material prepared by a particular process. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 15 Low-rank coals (LRCs) are abundant in the United States and elsewhere and have the potential to provide an economic feedstock for gasification. LRCs typically contain between 25 and 45 wt% moisture in the United States, and can be as great as 65 wt% in other countries. The high moisture content of LRCs has impeded their use as gasification feedstock because the gasification industry has identified an optimum moisture content not 20 exceeding 15 wt%. If the feedstock moisture is greater than 15 wt%, plant efficiency is impaired and economics may not be viable. A LRC with high-moisture content emits more carbon dioxide during utilization, on an equal energy basis, than low-moisture bituminous coal because the extra energy consumed evaporating moisture contained in the LRC is not available for useful work. Efficiency is reduced and emissions are increased. 25 Coal gasification systems produce clean burning gas and liquid fuels from solid fuels including coal and lignite. This technology is especially attractive from an environmental standpoint because carbon dioxide, believed to be an agent of global climate change, can be concentrated and removed during processing. Clean burning synthetic natural gas (SNG) is available for residential and industrial use. However, the yield of 30 liquids such as diesel and naphtha that are produced by gasification and liquefaction processes is severely impaired as the moisture of the feedstock increases above 12 wt%. The costs imposed by limiting feedstock to less than 12 wt% moisture 1 WO 2008/12893 PCT1US20081056856 severely reducethe ability to ui LRCs to produce petroleum liquids and gasec Various methods have been employed by commercial entities and evaluated by research laboratories to reduce the moisture content ofLCs, Virtualy all require thermal energy to sufficiently heat the LRC to evaporate water and remove the suprheated vapor 5 from the dried solids Somne methods use an autoclave or pressure vessel to remove a portin of the water as pressure spet liquid. The high-temperature (above 200C) thermal process uses an extemal heat source to produce a working fluid such as air com1bustion1e gasteam or other inert gases. Steam generators combustors. stoker fumaees orgas or oil burners are required to heat 10 the working fltid to the high temperaure. The cost of ihse external energ sources can be great, especially when environmentalequipment is included to treat flue gases created during coinbiustion hnan. attempt to rechuce the cost of high-tempeorature thermai energy tromt extierma hea sources, experiments have been conducted to extract ow-temperature (less than 15 100C Itherm energy frAm waste heat sources such as power plnt condenser circuits. ow-pressure steam cycles flares, and thermaI oxidizer flue gases. The lowtenperature drying methods require more time to evaporate a given amomt of water titan the high -temperature methods; Therefore a substantially i aer drying vcssef is required to provide the residence time to evaporate the water The 20 expense of the larger drying vessel and ancillary equipment is often greater than the benefit gained front using a lowdemperature waste energy source to heat the woring fluid. Certdn LRC s are heat sensitive and are easily oxidized during drying. Oxidation also reduces the uscfhi energy contained in the dried product. and therefore reduces its 25 commercial value. The rate of oxidation can he reduced by drying at relatively low temperature, preferably less than 100C. Commercial drying systems require substantially more energy to evaporate the water contained in LRCs than that required to evaporae an equal amount of liquid water held in direct contact with the working fluid.his fAct can be explained by considering 30 how liquid water is held by the LRC: 1 Water residing on. the surface of the LRC particle 2, Water held in the interior pores of the LRC particle; Water that is chemically bound to organic and inorganic molecules is not relevant to the present invention because this form of water can only be removed by thermal energy. Water residing on the surface of the LRC particle is the easiest to evaporate because 5 it comes into direct contact with the working fluid. Because little heat is transferred into the solid LRC particle during this operation, evaporation of this surface moisture is efficient and rapid. More energy is required to remove water held in pores of the bulk material because a sufficient amount of thermal energy must be imparted by the working fluid to both evaporate water and heat the porous solid material to evaporation 10 temperatures. Therefore the total energy required to evaporate liquid water held by LRC is the sum of the energy required to evaporate and remove water residing on the surface and within the pores of the material. The sum is always greater using existing thermal drying systems than that required to evaporate the equivalent amount of liquid water from the 15 surface of a solid in contact with a working fluid. The above discussion of documents, acts, materials, devices, articles and the like is included in the specification solely for the purpose of providing a context for the present invention. It is not suggested or represented that any or all of these matters formed part of the prior art base or were common general knowledge in the field relevant to the present 20 invention as it existed in Australia before the priority date of each claim of this application. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a compacted briquette of dried carbonaceous material prepared by the process comprising: providing a porous carbonaceous feed material comprising at least one 25 material selected from the group consisting of a brown coal, a lignite, a subbituminous coal, and a waste coal, wherein the porous carbonaceous feed material contains between about 15 weight percent and about 65 weight percent moisture held as water within pores in the porous material and has a top size between about 0.1 mm and about 19 mm; applying a pressure of at least about 30000 lb/in2 to the porous 30 carbonaceous feed material in order to collapse the porous carbonaceous material and express water held within pores in the porous carbonaceous material transferring expressed water to a surface of the carbonaceous material to form a processed carbonaceous material; 3 drying the expressed water from the surface of the processed carbonaceous material by contacting the processed carbonaceous material on a conveyor with a working fluid selected from unsaturated air and an inert gas, flowing past the processed carbonaceous material to form a dried carbonaceous material containing between about 8 5 weight percent and about 15 weight percent moisture held as water within pores in the dried carbonaceous material; compacting the dried carbonaceous material to form a briquette of ovoid shape having a minor dimension of at least about 6 mm and less than about 100 mm, wherein the briquette of dried carbonaceous material has each of the physical 10 characteristics: void space of the shaped product is between about 12 vol. % and about 60 vol. %; a compressive strength between about 100 psi and about 2,000 psi; and, 15 a moisture content between about 8 wt. % and about 15 wt. %. The present invention provides a compacted briquette of dried carbonaceous material prepared by way of an improved thermal drying process. The process involves evaporating liquid water that was transferred to the surface of the starting carbonaceous feed material from interior pores during compaction by mechanical forces. Increased 20 efficiencies result because water residing on the surface that is in direct contact with a working fluid can be evaporated with less time and energy than water residing in the material's internal pores. The present invention transforms LRC to remove moisture, and in a gasification application, improves the gasification characteristics of raw LRC feedstock. 25 Most LRCs have porous structures that contain liquid water and other tightly held materials. The process described in U.S. Patent Application No. 11/380,884, filed April 28, 2006 (U.S. Patent Publication No. 2007-0023549 Al), which is incorporated herein by reference, compresses raw material to reduce pore volume and express a significant proportion of the water contained in the pore volume. The high compaction forces 30 permanently deform the raw feed to produce a nearly solid impermeable product that is less susceptible to reabsorb water and oxygen. This transformation, when conducted on finely sized raw feed materials, has proven useful to both reduce the moisture content of feedstock and modify the texture of the material. 3A WO 2008/12893 PCT1US20081056856 In the> present invention, high compaction forces are coninuously imparted at ambient temperature to the feed materiaL Sufficient force is used to collapse the material porous structure and force the expeled water to the surface of the compacted material. The wet compacted material is then fed to a low-temperature or ambient 5 temperature-drying device where a substantial proportion of the water is evaporated from the surface of the material. Asan additional, benefit the present invention, by eingmore efficient can dry materials at ambient temperatures that are too low to be economically practcal with. conventioralfhemal drying systems that do not treat the Iced prior to drying. Operathig the present invention at ambient temperatures will provide additional 10 desirable cost advantages to iebutility and asi cation industries, among others, by aflowing production and use of low cost dried L products. Benefits include, Via increased drying efitcencies5 reducing the amount of carbon dioxide and other gasecms poltuants sucias sulfur dioxide and nitous oxides released duing production and utilization, Providing the opportunity to economically use domestic LRC resources to 1.5 produce motorifels will suhstantialvrduce use of foreign oil. Thus the present invention proves beneficial in three ways: economically reducing moisture content below15 wt%, fbrmingy a briquette that has predictable reaction kinetics with steam and oxygen. and providing a strong matedal that can support the wei ght of burden held in the gasification reactor. 20 The present invention provides processing methods to effiiently process raw buk materials into low1moisture content products. The preset invention includes the following subsvstems: 1, Raw solid fuel preparation. 2. Material compaction, 25 3 Working fluid management. 4 Drying. 5. Dust collection. 6;. OtMal secondary compaction means to form the materialinto desired shapes, as may be required by specific applications 30 Raw nTateriais such as LRC's are often mined and crushed to 50mm top size a size typically traded wordwide. The raw materials arc typicailcarbonaceous materials and particularly carbonaceous fuels that may include brown coal, linite, subbituminous 4 WO 2008/12893 PCTIUS20381056856 coa, waste coals and mixtures of these matenals. The present invention receives this carbonaceous material and cruse it to pass a 5mm seen or other similar size, depending on the application. Preferably, the fbedstock is crushed to reduce its nominal iop size to between 0. 1 mi to 6 m.n and more preferably to a nominal top size of about 0,5 mn.The 5 present invention processes all of the feed material thus achieving greater recovery of resources than other drying techniques that must remove and potentially discard finely sized materials prior to processing. The fed material is then compared using an applied mechanical foree sufficient to deform the feedstock to reduce its pore volume. Preferably, the force applied is in the 10 rae of between 5,000 lb/itund 50 000 lb/in and more preferably the applied torce is abb t 10,000 lbin'1 The prepared feed material may be fed to compactors such as roll presses, that exert high pressures on the material, The pressures exerted by the roll presses may range as high as 275000 kPa per cnm of roN width. The material is physically transformed under the pressure to colapse the porous structures that are present in most 1.5 1 RC's, The poresnn cotacollapse under pressure forcing the water from the pores to the surface of the material n some eases, sufficient water is present in the bulk starring material to be removed from the compressed mateal as aliquid and be careied away from the processing stream Separating liquid water from the mate ria'l prior to drying reduces the thermal load on the system 20 The wet compacted materiatis transported to low-temperature processing.sch as an direct rotary dryer to evaporate the liquid water present on or near the surface of the compressed particles. Drying rates of compacted materials can, be many times greater than drying rates of the raw material before compaction. The reason for the increased during rate is the water exposed from the pores is in direct contact with unsaturated gas 25 ("working fiuitV as defined below) passing over the matedal Increasing drying rates at low temperatures provides the operator with several benefits not offered by traditional processes For example. smaller and less costly equipment can be used to achieve the desired capacity If costs do not constrain the operation greater capacity can be achieved with compaction, Lower working temperatures can be used to dry heat-sensive 30 materials, thereby avoiding or substantially reducing oxidation and product deterioration. In another embodiment of the invention, a covered open stockpile can be used to gently but efficiently dry compacted material. Experiments reveal that the stockpiled 5n material can be well managed because oxidation rates of LRC s can be greatly reduced by compaction. The low-temperature drying process requires a source of unsaturated gas (working fluid) to heat the compacted material and transport the superheated water vapor away from 5 the dried material. Heat sources can range from ambient air to gas supplied from electric heaters, gas- and other fossil-fired combustors, and waste heat available from existing industrial processes such as power plants. Management of the heat source can be affected by readily-available commercial equipment. Spent working fluid, containing the water removed by evaporation, often contains 10 dust that must be collected and processed to meet environmental regulations. Experiments by the present inventors have confirmed that the spent working fluid produced during low temperature drying does not contain significant organic vapors to require additional collection or thermal treatment. Substantial cost savings result. In one embodiment, collected dust can be introduced, or re-introduced, to the compaction operation to increase 15 product yield. Dried product may be transformed into desired shapes, such as briquettes, that can be readily handled, stored, and transported by rail or ship to distant customers. The formed shapes may be desired to provide favorable material handling properties including acceptable bulk density, reduced breakage and dust generation, and resistance to oxidation 20 during storage. Numerous gasification processes have been identified and developed. One such process that has commercial application processes solid feedstock to produce carbon monoxide and hydrogen (referred to as syngas) and slag as a waste product. The process vessel resembles a tall vertical tank that accepts feed at the top of the vessel. Oxygen and 25 steam are injected near the bottom of the vessel (reaction zone) to create exothermic reactions that produce syngas. The feed slowly descends the vessel as material is consumed in the reaction zone. New feed is continuously added to make up volume consumed. The efficiency of the reactions depends on the feed material maintaining sufficient mechanical strength to support its bulk weight and porosity to allow gases to 30 flow upward and out of the reaction vessel. An ideal feed therefore contains an optimum moisture content (less than 15 wt%), and produces a carbonized material (coke) with exceptional mechanical strength and stability. In addition, the texture (grain size) of the 6 feed material is specified to provide the desired reaction rate between the coke, oxygen, and steam. Briquettes produced from LRC by the processes of the present invention have proven to be beneficial as a gasifier feedstock because of its ideal moisture content (8-15 5 wt%), mechanical strength after coking (greater than 600 lb/in2 compressive strength at ambient temperature), and moderate rate of reaction with steam at high temperature. The operating conditions of the processes of the present invention can be adjusted to provide briquette products with the specified moisture content, strength, and texture. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF T HE DRAWINGS 10 Figure 1 shows a schematic drawing of a low-temperature drying process integrated into a typical fossil-fired power plant operation in which a source of waste heat is available to heat the working fluid. Figure 2 shows a schematic drawing of low-temperature drying process that can be independently sited where no waste heat is available. Ambient air provides the working 15 medium. Figure 3 shows a schematic drawing of low-temperature drying process that can be independently sited and uses an external heat source to provide warm air for drying. Figure 4 shows a schematic drawing of an ambient-temperature drying process that can be independently sited where material is stored in a covered stockpile. The stockpile 20 is managed to accept compacted material on a continuous basis and be reclaimed as required. Figure 5 is a graph showing the results of a study comparing the relative drying rates of raw lignite and compacted lignite. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 25 The present invention provides a novel method to treat solid carbonaceous materials such as lignite and subbituminous coal used to fire boilers, combustors, stokers, and to feed coal gasifiers. This method takes advantage of the fact that a significant proportion of the water contained in pores of low-rank coal (often as much as 74% of the total water) can be efficiently evaporated without the difficulties of the conventional 30 thermal drying systems, Conventional drying operations must heat the solids to evaporation temperatures to remove water held in the interior of the material. Because the 7 WO 2008/12893 PCTIUS2008/0%856 rate of drying is greater with the present invention, lower temperatures can be efficiently used, signiflcantly reducing material oxidation, The method continuously compacts and coapses the porous material to express water held in pores, and transfers the expressed water to the surface of the processed 5 material Water residing on the sUface is efficiently evaporated in the presence of the working fuid. By avoiding the difficuties associated with heat and mass transfer into and outof a particle, the present invention provides the superior heat and mass transfer only available when water is placed in direct contact with a working fluid The efficiency gains can make both anint4emperaturc and elevated temperature drying systems practical in I.n..........................tm iwactca i 1 0 many appicaions The present invention includes the following subsystems: j. Raw solid fuel preparationv 2. Material cornpacti on 3 Working fluid nianaer meit, 15 4. Drying 5 Dust collection,. 6 Optional secondary co3action to fm the dried product into desid shapes, as may be required for certain commercial or industrial appircazons. 20 Each of these subsysteins is described in detail below. Raw Solid Fuel Preparation The raw sAid fuei. preparation subsstem receives crushed materialof traditional trade top size, typically about 50 nmy In one preferred embodiment, the minus-50 mm raw solid fuel is comnmied by a hammer min rol.l crusher, or other appropriate device to 25 produce a product of appriximately 5 nm top size. The optimum particle size required to provide the desired compaction properties is experimentally determined for a particular application and feed source. However teed to the compactor may have a top size that typicallyO varies between abomt 0 m and about 19 mmi Preferabg; the top sie is about 0,5 mm. The crushed material may include carbonaceous materials sch as brown coal 30 lignite, subbitaninous coal, waste coals and fixtures of these materials Preferably, this raw tedstock contais between about 15 weight percent moisture an.d about 65 weight percent moisture, and more preferably about 35 weight percent moisture. Preferably, the 8 temperature of this raw feedstock is between about 17 C and about 66'C, and more preferably the feedstock is at ambient temperature. Primary Material Compaction The prepared bulk raw material is compacted with sufficient force to mobilize and 5 transfer waters held in fractures, voids, and pores from the interior of the solid particle to the surface of the solid particle. Preferably, the compaction of the prepared bulk raw material is conducted in a continuous manner. The compaction force produces a pressure of between about 5000 lb/n 2 and about 50000 lb/inK and more preferably the compaction force produced is about 30000 lb/inr. 10 In the preferred embodiment, a roller press is used to compact the feed material using a specific roll force between about 5kN/cm and about 150 kN/cm of roll width. Water driven from the interior to the surface of particles by these compaction forces therefore becomes readily available for contact with a working fluid. Working Fluid Management 15 The working fluid can be unsaturated air, nitrogen, inert gas, flue gas, superheated steam, or other substances that are compatible with the dried material. The working fluid management system generates a substance containing less than 100% relative humidity. in a preferred embodiment, the substance is air containing less than 100% relative humidity that is collected and contacted with the wet material using natural convection, 20 fans, or blowers. In these cases, the entire drying system is independent of external heat sources. The material can contact the working fluid in stockpiles and drying vessels such as a rotary dryer. In another embodiment, the working fluid can be heated by an external source. Supplied heat may be transferred to the working fluid by a heat exchanger. The heat exchanger is configured to suit the application. Sources of external heat may include, 25 for example, condenser cooling water, flue gas desulfurization sludge, gasifier cooling water, syngas cooling water, heat recovery steam generator, or other forms of heat that would otherwise be rejected to the environment. In yet another embodiment, the working fluid generated by an external heat source can be hot flue gas that is tempered with air, or other material that is at a lower temperature than the combustion gas. In yet another 30 related embodiment, a purpose-built boiler or combustor can be used to heat the working fluid. 9 WO 2008/12893 PCT1US20081056856 Drying The comipacted product. usually in flake or pellet form. is transferred to a vessel where feed particles can be efficiently contacted with the unsaturated working fluid. In a preferred embodiment that works with coal or other heat-sensitive appiations.the drying 5 vessel is an indirect rotary dryer. Indirect rotary dryers transfer heat into the wet compressed material in two ways birst. heat is transferred by convection. This is accomplished by passing hot working fluid over the wet materiaL Second heat is transferred by conution by contatng the wet compressed mateaiwith a hot surfae shel of the rotary dryer), Both sources of heat evaporate water. in othr applications 10 that work with materials that are not heat sensitive, a direct rotary dryer may beused Direct dryers use heat supplied by the hot working fluid alone, and do not heat the material by conduction. The working fhd used in a direct dryer is typically hotter than the working fid used int an indirect rotary dryer in another embodiment, unsaturated air can be directed across a stockpile of 15 compared material. Fans or natural convection can used to accelerate the air to increase the rate of drying. In another ebodiment, material can be conveyed on a vibrating pan conveyor fitted with a perforated screen deck Working fluid enters upward though the perforatons and flows past the conveyed material The conveyor device is sufficiency long to provide 20 the required residence time to dry the materal Saturated vapor is removed from the top of the conveyer, Additional methods including fuid bed dryers and other vessels of commercial. configuratdon are avaiable. ITe present invention is not limited to the type of style of drying vessel as long as it is compatible With the process material. Dust Colkection 25 Vapors emanated from the dryer often contain dust that must be removed before venting to the atmosphere. Standard dustseparation and collection devices such as electrostatiprecipitators bag houses or wet serubbers may be used to separate fine particles from watervapors as dictated by therapplication Collected fine parties may be recycled to the compaction subsystem as desired, so that all, or neady all, feed material is 30 processed without waste. Secondary Materidal (ompaction Applications that require the finished product to be of a specified shape such as a 10 WO 2008/12893 PCTIUS20$3810%856 briquette can be accommodated by compacting the dried product as described above. Formed products arc typically used where the dried material is transported, used in stoker Iurnaces where a coarse partick size di tri:uion is required, In instances ia which a shaped final product is desired, the product is preferably a 5 briquette of ovoid shape with a minor dimensio of at least about 6 mObut less than about 100 nm and rnore preferably having a minor dimension of about 50 mm. These shaped products are. preferably formed bulk materials having a void space of between about 12 volume percent and about 60 volume rpercentanmore preferably bving a void space of about 30 volume percent void space. Preferably, the shaped products are formed 10 such that upon being subjected to cooking conditions, tI fmorm coke that has a Compressive strength between about 100 lb/ and about 2,000 lbun and more preferably a compressive strength of about 800 ib/int Preferably, the shaped products have a total moisture content between about 7 weigh percent and about 17 weight percent, and more preferably a total moisture content of about 12 wt%. 1.5 Figure I shows a schematic of th-e overall system. of a preferred embodiment of the invention, A source of raw solid fuel (1) supplies material (2) to the raw solid fuel comminution circuit (3) where the fred is crushed and sized. The prepared raw teed (4) and colected dust (12) are feed to the compaction circuit (5) where they are compressed under high pressure to force water from its internal pores to produce a flake product with 20 watcr adhering to the surface of the compacted material (6). The compacted material is fed to the dryer (7) .here it is me ith a r19evaporag the water residing on. the surtae of the compacted material. The resulting vapors and dust () are passed to a dust coalition circuit (9) where the dust and water vapor are separated, Dustfree vapor (10) is vented to the atmosphere (11 Dust (1 ) is conveyed to the compaction eirct. 25 Dryer product (13) containing substantially iess moisture than the feed. but within the application product specifications. is conveyed to a dried product storage point (14) where it is available for use or additional processing. A source of waste heat (15) capable of suppjin suinint owerto atify he vaporative load provides a hiot flow input (16) and accepts a hot flow return (17), A sufficient temperature drop x ists between the input 30 and return flows to impart the required energy to the working flu d 2 1) An ambient air source (20) provides the cool working fluid(21) to the heat exchange (18) where i is heated to a specified temperature by the calculating hot in and hot out flows. The heated I I working fluid (19) passes to the dryer where it contacts the wet feed material. Figure 2 shows a schematic of the overall system of a preferred embodiment of the present invention. A source of raw solid fuel (21) supplies material (22) to the raw solid fuel comminution circuit (23) where the feed is crushed and sized. 5 The prepared raw feed (24) and collected dust (212) is fed to the compaction circuit (25) where it is compressed under high pressure to force water from the feed's internal pores to produce a flake product with water adhering to the surface ofthe compacted material (26). The compacted material is fed to the dryer (27) where it is mixed with unsaturated ambient-temperature air (215) thus evaporating the water residing on the surface of the 10 compacted material. The resulting vapors and dust (28) are passed to a dust collection circuit (29) where dust and water vapor is separated. Dust-free vapor (210) is vented to the atmosphere (211). Dust (212) is conveyed to the compaction circuit. Dryer product (213) containing substantially less moisture than the feed, but within the application product specifications, is conveyed to a dried product storage point (214) where it is 15 available for use or additional processing. A source of ambient-temperature air (215) is fed into the dryer. Figure 3 shows a schematic of the overall system of a preferred embodiment of the invention. A source of raw solid fuel (31) supplies material (32) to the raw solid fuel comminution circuit (33) where the feed is crushed and sized. The prepared raw feed (34) 20 and collected dust (312) is fed to the compaction circuit (35) where it is compressed under high pressure to force water from the feed's internal pores to produce a flake product with water adhering to the surface of the compacted material (36). The compacted material is fed to the dryer (37) where it is mixed with heated air and flue gas (322) thus evaporating the water residing on the surface of the compacted material. The resulting vapors and dust 25 (38) are passed to a dust collection circuit (39) where dust and water vapor are separated. Dust-free vapor (310) is vented to the atmosphere (311). Dust (312) is conveyed to the compaction circuit. Dryer product (313) containing substantially less moisture than the feed, but within the application product specifications, is conveyed to a dried product storage point (314) where it is available for use or additional processing. A source of 30 ambient air (319) provides combustion air (320) and tempering air (321) to the process. A source of fuel (315) is supplied (16) to a furnace (317) where it is combusted to provide hot flue gas (31 8). The flue gas is mixed with tempering air (321) to provide a 12 warm gas (322) of the specified temperature for drying purposes. Figure 4 shows a schematic of a preferred embodiment of the invention, A source of raw solid fuel (41) supplies material (42) to the raw solid fuel comminution circuit (43) where the feed is crushed and sized, The prepared raw feed ( 44) is fed to the compaction 5 circuit (45) where it is compressed under high pressure to force water from the feed's internal pores to produce a flake product with water adhering to the surface of the compacted material (46). The compacted material is stacked out in a covered stockpile (47). A source of ambient, unsaturated air (48) is available to sweep (49) over the stockpiled material thus evaporating the water residing on the surface of the compacted 10 material. The resulting vapors (410) are released as a gas to the atmosphere (411). Dried product (412) containing substantially less moisture than the feed, but within the application product specifications, is reclaimed to a dried product storage point (413) where it is available for use or additional processing. Additional objects, advantages, and novel features of this invention will become 15 apparent to those skilled in the art upon examination of the following examples thereof, which are not intended to be limiting. EXAMPLES Example 1 A detailed study of lignite (high-moisture lignite from North Dakota) was 20 undertaken to assess the relative drying rates of raw material and compacted product. Experiments were conducted on materials spread out on a flat tarpaulin at ambient conditions. Samples of raw lignite and compacted lignite were taken periodically from the spread out material and assayed for total moisture. The measured moisture values were normalized as percent of the total water evaporated to compare the results on an 25 equal basis. Drying conditions were 31 C, and 23% relative humidity. Results are plotted in Figure 5. These results demonstrate the increased drying rates possible by compacting the raw lignite. Table I summarizes the ratio of drying rates between raw and compacted lignite processed at ambient conditions of 3i C, 23% relative humidity. 30 WO 2008/12893 PCT/US20081056856 Table 1. Ratio of Relative Drying Rates for North Dakota Ignite Drying Time, % posture RemovedRatio hr Raw Cmpactd 4 16 4O L0 9 22 24 Ex anrlple 2 5 A dewted stwdy of one RC (high moisture lignite from South East Asi was undertaken io assess the relative dryng rates of raw mater and compacted product processed by an direct rotary dryer (180mm diameter X 3000mm long The heated portion of the drying tube was 2000nm tng he cooling zone wa 600mm long, and the fed zone was 400mn long. Test conditions were identical for the compacted and raw 10 materials. The resuhs are o mnarized in T eabl 2. Table 2. Rotary Indirect Dryer Test Resolts Test Parameter ad Raw Mateial 1Materni Feedl .mistture wtx 45 46 Product n isurQ, wt%' 6 38 Red e m 20 20 20 at fed poky *C Shell temperature, *C L than 10 Les dihan 10 s than 100 Less han 100 Sweep gas flwrte L4nin 00 70 Material feed rate. k nmhi C) 10 14 These data show the compacted material dries to a lower moisture content that is about half that of the raw material under identical drying conditions. The increased drying rate afforded by compaction effectively doubles the capacity of the drying equipment. If cost savings are more important than capacity, the cost of the drying equipment will be 5 half. Example 3 An experiment was conducted to measure the relative drying rates of South East Asia lignite held under warm, moist conditions that would be expected in a covered stockpile located in non-condensing, warm, humid tropical climates. Table 3 lists results. 10 Table 3. Moisture Content of Lignite Stored in Warm, Humid Atmosphere 30*C, > 60% Relative Humidity 15 These test data show that the compacted material lost 50% more moisture than the raw material in 48 hours. Example 4 Samples of lignite produced from North Dakota were processed as described in the process above to form briquettes of low moisture content. These briquettes were then 20 processed at high temperature and gas conditions that are typical of those found in the reaction zone of a solid feed gasifier. The compressive strength of the briquettes and associated coke produced from the gasification conditions were measured. Tests were also conducted on briquettes formed from North Dakota lignite by standard industrial processes typically used to form home 25 heating fuels and other industrial products. Test results are listed in Table 4. 15 Table 4. Compressive Strength of Briquettes and Coke Produced from LRCs Briquette Compressive Strength, Sample Description Moisture, lb/in2 Process Method wt% Briquette Coke North Dakota Lignite #5 A 16.3 1,405 711 Present Invention North Dakota Lignite #5 B 10.9 944 676 Present Invention North Dakota Lignite #6 A 12.0 1,211 898 Present Invention North Dakota Lignite #6 B 9.98 767 755 Present Invention North Dakota Lignite #6 C 8.24 735 506 Present Invention German Lignite 10.81 n/a 247 Industrial Process These results demonstrate the increase of compressive strength from 247 lb/in 2 for coke produced from briquettes formed from industrial processes to over 500 lb/in 2 for coke 5 produced from briquettes formed by the present invention. The foregoing description of the present invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description. Furthermore, the description is not intended to limit the invention to the form disclosed herein. Consequently, variations and modifications commensurate with the above teachings, and the skill or knowledge of the relevant art, are 10 within the scope of the present invention. The embodiment described hereinabove is further intended to explain the best mode known for practicing the invention and to enable others skilled in the art to utilize the invention in such, or other, embodiments and with various modifications required by the particular applications or uses of the present invention. It is intended that the appended claims be construed to include alternative 15 embodiments to the extent permitted by the prior art. It is to be understood that, throughout the description and claims of the specification the word "comprise" and variations of the word, such as "comprising" and "comprises", is not intended to exclude other additives, components, integers or steps. 16