Conversion of heavy hydrocarbon oils

Claim 1

IN THE PROCESS OF PRODUCING LOWER BOILING HYDROCARBONS FROM HEAVY HYDROCARBONACEOUS RESIDUES WHICH TEND TO PRODUCE FINELY DIVIDED CONTAMINANTS FOR CATALYST BY COKING SAID RESIDUES IN CONTACT WITH A DENSE, TURBULENT, FLUIDIZED MASS OF CATALYTICALLY SUBSTANTIALLY INERT SOLIDS MAINTAINED AT A COKING TEMPERATURE IN A COKING ZONE AND PASSING THE VOLATILE COKING PRODUCTS INCLUDING ENTRAINED PARTICLES OF HEAVY LIQUID WITHOUT INTERMEDIATE CONDENSATION OF CONSTITUENTS DESIRABLE FOR CRACKING THROUGH A DENSE FLUIDIZED MASS OF CRACKING CATALYST MAINTAINED AT A CRACKING TEMPERATURE, THE IMPROVEMENT WHICH COMPRISES MAINTAINING IN A VERTICAL ELONGATED CONTACTING ZONE A LOWER DENSE FLUIDIZED MASS CATALYTICALLY INERT SOLIDS AT A COKING TEMPERATURE, AN INTERMEDIATE SEPARATE DENSE FLUIDIZED MASS OF CATALYTICALLY INERT SOLIDS WHICH IS MAINTAINED AT A TEMPERATURE NOT EXCEEDING THE COKING TEMPERATURE IN THE LOWER MASS AND SUFFICIENTLY LOW TO COLLECT HIGH BOILING HYDROCARBONS FROM COKED VAPOR PRODUCTS IN SUFFICIENT QUANTITIES TO SEPARATE CATALYST CONTAMINANT MATERIALS FROM SAID VAPOR PRODUCTS BY ADHESION, AND AN UPPER SEPARATE DENSE FLUIDIZED MASS OF CRACKING CATALYST MAINTAINED AT SAID CRACKING TEMPERATURE, FEEDING SAID RESIDUES TO SAID LOWER MASS, PASSING VOLTATILE EFFLUENT OF SAID LOWER MASS IN SERIES UPWARDLY THROUGH SAID INTERMEDIATE AND UPPER MASSES, SEPARATING THE ENTRAINED LIQUID PARTICLES AND FINELY DIVIDED CONTAMINANTS IN SAID INTERMEDIATE MASS BY ADHESION AS AFORESAID, WITHDRAWING CATALYTICALLY CRACKED VOLATILE PRODUCTS FROM SAID UPPER MASS, PASSING SOLIDS FROM SAID INTERMEDIATE MASS TO A SEPARATE RECONDITIONING ZONE, REMOVING CONSTITUENTS UNDESIRABLE IN CATALYTIC CRACKING FROM SAID SOLIDS IN SAID RECONDITIONING ZONE AND RETURNING SOLIDS SO RECONDITIONED TO SAID INTERMEDIATE MASS.