Solids conveyance of contact material in compact form and apparatus

Claim 1

A PROCESS FOR THE CATALYTIC CRACKING OF HYDROCARBONS WHICH COMPRISES PASSING A SUBSTANTIALLY COMPACT MOVING BED OF GRANULAR CATALYST DOWNWARDLY BY GRAVITY THROUGH A CATALYST REGENERATION ZONE AND A HYDROCARBON CRACKING ZONE, CONTACTING REGENERATED CATALYST WITH A HYDROCARBON IN SAID CRACKING ZONE TO FORM A CRACKED HYDROCARBON PRODUCT AND SPENT CATALYST, CONTACTING SAID SPENT CATALYST IN SAID REGENERATION ZONE WITH OXYGEN-CONTAINING REGENERATION GASES TO FORM FLUE GAS AND REGENERATED CATALYST, PASSING SAID SPENT CATALYST INTO AN INDUCTION ZONE COMMUNICATING THROUGH AT LEAST ONE LOWER CONVEYANCE ZONE WITH AT LEAST ONE INTERMEDIATE PRESSURING ZONE WHICH IN TURN COMMUNICATES THROUGH AT LEAST ONE UPPER CONVEYANCE ZONE WITH A SEPARATOR ZONE, INTRODUCING A CONVEYANCE FLUID INTO SAID INDUCTION ZONE, ALTERNATELY PRESSURING AND DEPRESSURING SAID INTERMEDIATE PRESSURING ZONE BY INTRODUCTION AND REMOVAL OF CONVEYANCE FLUID BETWEEN PRESSURES SUFFICIENTLY ABOVE AND SUFFFICIENTLY BELOW THE PRESSURES IN SAID SEPARATOR AND INDUCTION ZONE RESPECTIVELY TO CONVEYANCE FLUID FLOW ALTERNATELY THROUGH SAID UPPER AND LOWER CONVEYANCE ZONES RESPECTIVELY AT RATES SUFFICIENT TO CONVEY SAID CATALYST THERETHROUGH FROM SAID INDUCTION ZONE TO SAID SEPARATOR ZONE, APPLYING A SOLIDS COMPACTING FORCE AGAINST THE CATALYST DISCHARGING FROM EACH OF SAID CONVEYANCE ZONES TO MAINTAIN THE CATALYST SOLIDS DURING CONVEYANCE SUBSTANTIALLY AT THEIR STATIC BULK DENSITY, AND FLOWING THE CATALYST THUS CONVEYED FROM SAID SEPARATOR ZONE INTO SAID REGENERATION ZONE.