Catalytic conversion of hydrocarbons

Claim 1

THE PROCESS OF HYDRATING A MOVING BODY OF CLAY CATALYST WITH STEAM, WHICH COMPRISES FLOWING SAID BODY OF CATALYST AS A COMPACT BED IN A GENERALLY DOWNWARD DIRECTION, DIVERGING THE FLOW OF CATALYST OUTWARDLY FROM THE CENTER OF THE BED AT A POSITION ALONG THE PATH OF DOWNWARD FLOW OF SAID CATALYST AND FOR A VERTICAL DISTANCE OF SUBSTANTIAL EXTENT TO PROVIDE WITHIN THE BED A CENTRAL DOWNWARDLY DIVERGING CONICAL SPACE FREE FROM CATALYST, DIVEGING THE FLOW OF CATALYST INWARDLY FROM THE OUTER PERIPHERY OF THE BED AT A POSITION ALONG SAID PATH OF CATALYST FLOW AND FOR A SUBSTANTIAL VERTICAL DISTANCE AT LEAST PARTIALLY HORIZONTALLY OPPOSITE TO SAID CENTRAL CONICAL SPACE, THEREBY FORMING A DOWNWARDLY CONVERGING ANNULAR MASS OF FLOWING CATALYST HAVING A LATERAL INNER FACE AND AN OPPOSITELY SLOPED LATERAL OUTER FACE, DIRECTING THE FLOW OF CATALYST INWARDLY AT A POINT BELOW THE BASE OF SAID CONICAL SPACE TO FORM DIRECTLY BELOW SAID CONICAL SPACE A MASS OF CATALYST HAVING AN UPWARDLY CONCAVED ENGAGING SURFACE, INTRODUCING STEAM INTO SAID BED OF CATALYST BY FLOWING SAID STEAM AT LOW VELOCITY INTO ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID CATALYST AT A PLURALITY OF VERTICALLY SPACED LEVELS ALONG BOTH OF SAID LATERAL FACES FROM OPPOSED DIRECTIONS AND BY PASSING STEAM INTO ENGAGEMENT WITH CATALYST FROM SAID CONICAL SPACE THROUGH SAID UPWARDLY CONCAVED ENGAGING SURFACE, PASSING THE STEAM THUS INRODUCED THROUGH THE ENTIRE DEPTH OF THE COMPACT CATALYST BED ABOVE THE REGION OF INTRODUCTION OF SUCH STEAM, AND DISCHARGING UNADSORBED STEAM ABOVE THE TOP OF SAID BED, WHEREBY THE FLOWING BODY OF CATALYST CAN BE READILY HYDRATED WITH COMPARATIVE LARGE QUANTITIES OF STEAM AT LOW STEAM FLOW VELOCITIES NOT MATERIALLY INTERFERING WITH THE DOWNWARD MOVEMENT OF THE BODY OF CATALYST.