Method of effecting catalytic conversion

Claim 1

A PROCESS FOR EFFECTING CATALYTIC HYDROGENATION OF CARBON OXIDES TO PRODUCE DESIRED PRODUCTS OF REACTION SUCH AS HYDROCARBONS, OXYGENATED HYDROCARBONS AND THE LIKE BY CONTACT WITH A POWDERED CATALYTST IN CONTACT WITH A HEAT EXCHANGE SURFACE WITHIN A REACTION ZONE MAINTAINED UNDER CONVERSION CONDITIONS INCLUDING A PREDETERMINED ELEVATED CONVERSION TEMPERATURE WHICH COMPRISES DISPOSING WITHIN A VERTICAL REACTION ZONE, IN CONTACT WITH SAID HEAT EXCHANGE SURFACE A MASS OF INERT SOLID CONTACT MATERIAL IN RELATIVELY COARSE PARTICLES FORM, CONTINUOUSLY INTRODUCING TO THE LOWER PORTION OF SAID ZONE A REACTANT VAPOR STREAM COMPRISING CARBON MONOXIDE AND HYDROGEN, SUSPENDING IN THE REACTANT VAPOR CATALYST POWDER IN RELATIVELY FINE PARTICLES FORM, PASSING SAID VAPOR CONTAINING SUSPENDED CATALYST POWDER UPWARDLY THROUGH SAID MASS OF COARSE PARTICLES WITH SUFFICIENT VELOCITY TO MAINTAIN SAID COARSE PARTICLES IN A STATE OF FLUIDIZATION ALONG THE VERTICAL DIMENSION OF SAID REACTION ZONE BUT WITHOUT SUBSTANTIAL ENTRAINMENT OF SAID COARSE PARTICLES FROM THE REACTION ZONE, EFFECTING SUBSTANTIAL CONVERSION OF CARBON MONOXIDE AND HYDROGEN INTO THE DESIRED PRODUCT, EXCHANGING HEAT BETWEEN THE FLUIDIZED MASS AND SAID HEAT EXCHANGE SURFACE, CONTINUOUSLY REMOVING FROM THE UPPER PORTION OF SAID REACTION ZONE THE EFFLUENT REACTION PRODUCTS CONTAINING SUSPENDED CATALYST POWDER, SEPARATING SAID EFFLUENT INTO A PLURALITY OF STREAMS, RECOVERING DESIRED PRODUCTS OF REACTION FROM ONE OF SAID STREAMS AND RECYCLING ANOTHER OF SAID STREAMS CONTAINING SUSPENDED CATALYST POWDER TO THE LOWER PORTION OF THE REACTION ZONE.