Process of treating gasiform fluids at elevated temperatures

Claim 1

THE PROCESS OF TREATING GASIFORM FLUIDS CONTAINING A READILY COMBUSTIBLE SUBSTANCE, COMPRISING, PASSING A GASIFORM STREAM INITIALLY CONTAINING SAID SUBSTANCE IN ADMIXTURE WITH A GASIFORM MEDIUM CONTAINING ESSENTIALLY STEAM AND A PREDETERMINED RELATIVELY SMALL AMOUNT OF OXYGEN COMPLETELY THROUGH A DEEP, CONTINUOUS, STATIONARY BED OF SMALL-SIZE INCOMBUSTIBLE SOLIDS WHILE SAID SOLIDS ARE CONDINED IN AN UPRIGHT REACTOR, LONGITUDINALLY IN CONTACT WITH SAID SOLIDS FROM ONE END TO THE OPPOSITE END OF SAID BED WHILE MAINTAINING A MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE HOT ZONE COMPRISING A STRATUM ONLY OF SAID BED BETWEEN THE TOP AND BOTTOM THEREOF AT AN ELEVATED REACTION TEMPERATURE ABOVE 400* F. BUT BELOW ABOUT 1600* F., AT SUCH A VELOCITY THAT SAID SUBSTANCE IS RAPIDLY HEATED IN THE LATTER STRATUM AND REACTED CHEMICALLY AS SAID STREAM PASSES THROUGH SAID STRATUM, THEREBY CAUSING THE REACTION OF SAID SUBSTANCE TO OCCUR SUBSTANTIALLY WITHOUT THE FORMATION OF CARBON BLACK, CONTUNUING THIS OPERATION UNTIL THE TEMPERATURE OF THE MASS OF SOLIDS IN SAID OPPOSITE END OF SAID BED IS HEATED TO A TEMPERATURE SOMEWHAT ABOVE THE FEED TEMPERATURE BY THE SENSIBLE HEAT OF THE THUS HEATED STREAM EXITING THERETHROUGH, THEN REVERSING