Method and apparatus for hydrocarbon conversion

Claim 1

A CONTINUOUS CYCLIC PROCESS FOR THE CATALYTIC CONVERSION OF HYDROCARBONS COMPRISING: PASSING AN ADSORBENT CATALYST CONSISTING OF PARTICLES OF DIFFERING SIZES DOWNWARDLY THROUGH A CONFINED CONVERSION ZONE AS A SUBSTANTIALLY COMPACT COLUMN WHILE PASSING FLUID HYDROCARBON REACTANTS THROUGH SAID COLUMN TO EFFECT THE CONVERSION THEREOF, MAINTAINING A SPEARATE COLUMN OF DOWNWARDLY MOVING CATALYST IN A CONFINED REGENERATION ZONE IN CONTACT WITH A COMBUSTION SUPPORTING GAS TO BURN CARBONACEOUS CONTAMINANTS FROM SAID CATALYST, MAINTAINING A BED OF SPENT CATALYST IN A SPENT CATALYST SUPPLY ZONE VERTICALLY ABOVE SAID COLUMN IN SAID REGENERATION ZONE AND COMMUNICATING THEREWITH THROUGH AT LEAST ONE COMPACT GRAVITATING STREAM OF CATALYST, WITHDRAWING SPENT CATALYST FROM SAID CONVERSION ZONE AND CONVEYING IT UPWARDLY TO A LOCATION ABOVE AND LATERALLY OF SAID SPENT CATALYST SUPPLY ZONE, CONTINUOUSLY FLOWING A STREAM OF SAID SPENT CATALYST FROM SAID LOCATION ONTO THE UPPER END OF A FLAT INCLINED SURFACE OF SUBSTANTIAL WITH AND EFFECTING UNIFORM DISTRIBUTION OF CATALYST ALL ACROSS AND SURFACE BY OSCILLATING THE DISCHARGE END OF SAID STREAM LATERALLY BACK AND FORTH ACROSS THE WIDTH OF SAID FLAT INCLINED SURFACE, FLOWING THE DISTRIBUTED CATALYST DOWN SAID INCLINED SURFACE AS A SUBSTANTIALLY CONTINUOUS PRIMARY STREAM TO A LOCATION WITHIN THE UPPER SECTION OF SAID SUPPLY ZONE SUBSTANTIALLY ABOVE THE SURFACE OF THE BED THEREIN, WHEREBY THE SMALLER PARTICLES BECOME CONCENTRATED ALONG THE BOTTOM OF SAID PRIMARY STREAM, SPLITTING SAID PRIMARY STREAM AS IT REACHES THE LOWER END OF SAID INCLINED SURFACE ALONG VERTICAL PLANES RUNNING TRANSVERELY OF THE WIDTH OF SAID PRIMARY STREAM TO FORM A PLURALITY OF SECONDARY STREAMS, WHEREBY THE OVERALL DISTRIBUTION PARTICLE SIZE IN EACH SECONDARY STREAM IS SUBSTANTIALLY THE SAME IN SAID PRIMARY STREAM, FLOWING SAID SECONDARY STREAMS IN DOWNWARDLY SLOPING PATHS TO A PLURALITY OF SPACED LOCATIONS ABOVE THE SURFACE OF SAID BED AND UNIFORMLY DISTRIBUTED WITH RESPECT ITS HORIZONTAL CROSS-SECTIONAL AREA, FLOWING SAID SECONDARY STREAMS SUBSTANTIALLY VERTICALLY DOWNWARD FROM SAID LOCATIONS ONTO THE SURFACE OF SAID BED, WITHDRAWING REGENERATED CATALYST FROM THE LOWER SECTION OF SAID REGENERATION ZONE AND RETURNING IT TO SAID CONVERSION ZONE.