Process and apparatus for the disen

Claim 1

IN A HYDROCARBON CONVERSION PROCESS WHEREIN GASEOUS HYDROCARBONS ARE PASSED CONCURRENTLY DOWNWARD THROUGH A COMPACT BED OF GRANULAR CONTACT MATERIAL GRAVITATING THROUGH A CONTACT ZONE, THE METHOD FOR DISENGAGING SAID GAS FROM SAID CONTACT MATERIAL WHICH COMPRISES FLOWING SAID CONTACT MATERIAL, AT LEAST AT THE LOWER END OF SAID CONTACT ZONE, AS A CONFINED ANNULAR STREAM, DISCHARGING SAID ANNULAR STREAM OF CONTACT MATERIAL FROM SAID CONTACT ZONE DIRECTLY INTO A DISENGAGING ZONE, SAID ANNULAR STREAM EXPANDING BOTH OUTWARDLY AND INWARDLY UPON DISCHARGE TO FORM AN ENLARGED BED OF HORIZONTALLY CONTINUOUS CROSS-SECTIONAL AREA, THE OUTWARDLY FLOWING AND THE INWARDLY FLOWING PORTIONS OF SAID ANNULAR STREAM HAVING EXPOSED UPPER SURFACES WHICH FORM, RESPECTIVELY, THE LOWERMOST BOUNDARIES OF A CONFINED PERIPHERAL GAS-COLLECTING SPACE AND A CONFINED CENTRAL GAS-COLLECTING SPACE, SAID EXPOSED UPPER SURFACES HAVING A TOTAL HORIZONTALLY-PROJECTED AREA SUBSTANTIALLY GREATER THAN THE MAXIMUM CROSS-SECTION AREA OF THE BED WITHIN SAID CONTACT ZONE, PASSING THE GAS COLLECTED IN SAID CENTRAL GAS-COLLECTING SPACE LATERALLY OUTWARD AS A CONFINED STREAM THROUGH SAID ANNULAR STREAM INTO SAID PERIPHERAL GAS-COLLECTING SPACE, DISCHARGING THE TOTAL DISENGAGED GAS FROM SAID PERIPHERAL GAS-COLLECTING SPACE, AND DISCHARGING SAID CONTACT MATERIAL FROM THE LOWER END OF SAID EXPANDED BED.