Hydrocarbon conversion and contact material transfer method

Claim 1

IN A HYDROCARBON CONVERSION PROCESS IN WHICH A GRANULAR CONTACT MATERIAL IS PASSED CYCLICALLY THROUGH TWO CONTACTING ZONES IN EACH OF WHICH IT IS MAINTAINED AS A SUBSTANTIALLY COMPACT BED OF GRAVITATING CONTACT MATERIAL AND IN ONE OF WHICH IT IS CONTACTED WITH A HYDROCARBON CHARGE TO EFFECT ITS CONVERSION WHILE IN THE OTHER OF WHICH ZONES IT IS CONTACTED WITH A SUITABLE RECONDITIONING GAS TO RECONDITION IT FOR REUSE IN THE OTHER CONTACTING ZONE, THE IMPROVED METHOD OF TRANSFERRING THE CONTACT MATERIAL FROM THE BOTTOM OF ONE OF SAID CONTACTING ZONES UPWARD INTO THE UPPER SECTION OF THE OTHER OF SAID CONTACTING ZONES WHICH COMPRISES: WITHDRAWING THE CONTACT MATERIAL DOWNWARDLY FROM THE BOTTOM OF ONE OF SAID CONTACTING ZONES AS A SUBSTANTIALLY COMPACT STREAM, PASSING THE WITHDRAWN CONTACT MATERIAL IN SERIES THROUGH A PLURALITY OF ALTERNATING COMMUNICATING DESCENDING AND RISING LEGS, EACH RISING LEG BEING OF LONGER LENGTH THAN THE NEXT PRECEDING DESCENDING LEG AND EACH RISING LEG HAVING ITS UPPER END AT A SUBSTANTIALLY HIGHER LEVEL THAN THE UPPER END OF THE PRECEDING RISING LEG, THE GRANULAR CONTACT MATERIAL FLOWING DOWNWARDLY BY GRAVITY AS A SUBSTANTIALLY COMPACT COLUMN IN EACH DESCENDING LEG TO A COMMUNICATION ZONE WHERE THE GRANULES ARE SUSPENDED IN A SUITABLE LIFT GAS AND CARRIED IN SUSPENSION UP THROUGH THE FOLLOWING RISING LEG, THE COLUMNS IN SAID DESCENDING LEGS CREATING SUBSTANTIALLY NO HYDROSTATIC HEAD AT THEIR LOWER ENDS, SUPPLYING LIFT GAS TO EACH OF SAID COMMUNICATING ZONES WHICH COMMUNICATE THE LOWER ENDS OF SUCCESSIVE DESCENDING AND RISING LEGS TO EFFECT THE SUSPENSION OF SAID GRANULAR CONTACT MATERIAL AS AFORESAID, CONTROLING THE GASEOUS PRESSURE IN EACH COMMUNICATING ZONE SUBSTANTIALLY ABOVE THAT AT THE UPPER END OF THE DESCENDING LEG COMMUNICATING THEREINTO AND BELOW THE VALUE OF THE QUOTIENT OBTAINED BY DIVIDING THE WEIGHT OF CONTACT MATERIAL IN THE VERTICAL PORTION OF THE DESCENDING LEG COMMUNICATING SAID COMMUNICATING ZONE BY THE AVERAGE HORIZONTAL CROSS-SECTIONAL AREA OF SAID DESCENDING LEG, WHEREBY A SMALL AMOUNT OF GAS IS FORCED UPWARDLY THROUGH SAID DESCENDING LEG AT A RATE INSUFFICIENT TO AFFECT THE COMPACTNESS OF SAID DESCENDING LEG, MAINTAINING THE LENGTH OF SAID FIRST DESCENDING LEG SUBSTANTIALLY BELOW THAT AT WHICH SAID QUOTIENT WOULD EQUAL THE VALUE OF THE PRESSURE WHICH WOULD BE REQUIRED TO LIFT THE CONTACT MATERIAL UNDER SIMILAR CONDITIONS IN THE RISING LEG FROM SAID FIRST COMMUNICATING ZONE TO ANY LEVEL ABOVE SAID BED IN THE OTHER OF SAID CONTACTING ZONES, AND MAINTAINING THE RATIO OF THE CONTACT MATERIAL STREAM DENSITY IN EACH DESCENDING LEG AND THE RISING LEG FOLLOWING IT AT LEAST EQUAL TO THE INVERSE RATIO OF THE VERTICAL LENGTHS OF SAID LEGS, DISCARGING CONTACT MATERIAL FROM THE LAST RISING LEG IN SAID SERIES AND FLOWING IT DOWNWARDLY ONTO THE BED IN THE OTHER OF SAID CONTACTING ZONES.