Manufacture of acetylene and ethylene

Claim 1

A PROCESS FOR MANUFACTURING ACETYLENE AND ETHYLENE WHICH COMPRISES MAINTAINING A GRAVITATING COLUMN OF HOT PEBBLES IN AN UPRIGHT ELONGATED ENCLOSED REACTION ZONE AT AN ENTERING TEMPERATURE IN THE RANGE OF 1800* TO 2800* F.; PASSING A STREAM OF NORMALLY GASEOUS HYDROCARBON FEED AT A TEMPERATURE BELOW 500* F.; INTO THE LOWER END OF SAID ZONE IN CONTACT WITH SAID COLUMN AND IN COUNTERCURRENT FLOW WITH SAID PEBBLES SO AS TO PREHEAT SAID FEED TO CRACKING TEMPERATURE IN THE LOWER SECTION OF SAID ZONE AND COOL SAID PEBBLES TO A TEMPERATURE BELOW 800* F.; CRACKING SAID FEED TO ETHYLENE IN AN INTERMEDIATE SECTION OF SAID ZONE; WITHDRAWING AN EFFLUENT COMPRISING ETHYLENE DIRECTLY FROM SAID INTERMEDIATE SECTION SO AS TO REDUCE THE VOLUME OF HYDROCARBON PASSING UPWARDLY FROM SAID INTERMEDIATED SECTION AND THEREBY INCREASE THE RATE OF HEATING IN THE UPPER SECTION OF SAID REACTION ZONE; PASSING THE REMAINING HYDROCARBON UPWARDLY THROUGH SAID ZONE DIRECTLY FROM SAID INTERMEDIATE SECTION THROUGH THE NEXT ADJACENT SECTION OF SAID ZONE AND CRACKING SAME TO ACETYLENE IN THE UPPER SECTION OF SAID ZONE; AND WITHDRAWING AN EFFLUENT COMPRISING ACETYLENE FROM THE UPPER END OF SAID ZONE.