Process and apparatus for catalyst

Claim 1

IN A HYDROCARBON CONVERSION PROCESS WHEREIN GRANULAR CONTACT MATERIAL GRAVITATES AS A COMPACT MOVING MASS SUCCESSIVELY THROUGH A REACTION ZONE WHEREIN GASEOUS HYDROCARBONS ARE MADE TO FLOW CONCURRENTLY WITH SAID GRANULAR MATERIAL AND THROUGH A SEPARATE DISENGAGING ZONE WHEREIN THE GASEOUS REACTION PRODUCTS ARE SEPARATED FROM SAID GRANULAR MATERIAL, SAID GRANULAR MATERIAL AND GASEOUS REACTION PRODUCTS BEING CONVEYED TOGETHER BETWEEN SAID SEPARATE ZONES AS A PLURALITY OF PARALLEL CONFINED STREAMS DISCHARGING AT A COMMON INTERMEDIATE LEVEL WITHIN SAID DISENGAGING ZONE, THE IMPROVEMENT WHICH COMPRISES THE STEPS OF: FLOWING ADDITIONAL CONFINED STREAMS OF SAID GRANULAR MATERIAL FROM THE BOTTOM REGION OF SAID REACTION ZONE TO A SECOND COMMON LEVEL OF DISCHARGE SUBSTANTIALLY ABOVE SAID COMMON INTERMEDIATE LEVEL, THE RELATIVE SIZES OF SAID FIRSTMENTIONED STREAMS AND SAID ADDITIONAL STREAMS BEING SUCH AS TO CAUSE THE SUBSTANTIAL MAJOR PORTION OF SAID GASEOUS REACTION PRODUCTS TO BE CONVEYED IN SAID FIRSTMENTIONED STREAMS AND ONLY A MINOR INCIDENTAL AMOUNT OF GASEOUS REACTION PRODUCTS TO BE CONVEYED IN SAID ADDITIONAL STREAMS; DISCHARGING SAID GRANULAR MATERIAL AT THE BOTTOM OF SAID DISENGAGING ZONE; AND DISCHARGING DISENGAGED GASEOUS MATERIAL FROM SAID DISENGAGING ZONE AT A LOCATION ABOVE SAID SECOND COMMON LEVEL OF DISCHARGE; THE QUANTITY OF GASEOUS MATERIAL CONVEYED IN SAID ADDITIONAL STREAMS OF GRANULAR MATERIAL BEING IN SUCH MINOR AMOUNT THAT THE TOTAL QUANTITY OF GAS DISENGAGED FROM THE GRANULAR MATERIAL IN THE REGIONS IMMEDIATELY SURROUNDING THE LOWER ENDS OF SAID ADDITIONAL STREAMS IN INSUFFICIENT TO CAUSE ANY SUBSTANTIAL ENTRAINMENT OF GRANULAR MATERIAL IN THE GASEOUS MATERIAL DISCHARGING FROM SAID DISENGAGING ZONE.