Pebble heater reactor employed in the conversion of hydrocarbons, with the use of inert solids

Claim 1

A PROCESS FOR CRACKING NORMALLY LIQUID HYDROCARBON WHICH COMPRISES GRAVITATING A HOT COMPACT STREAM OF REFRACTORY PEBBLES AT A TEMPERATURE ABOVE THE CRACKING TEMPERATURE OF SAID HYDROCARBON TO A CRACKING ZONE OF UNIFORMLY INCREASING HORIZONTAL CROSS-SECTIONAL AREA IN THE DIRECTION OF PEBBLE FLOW; MAINTAINING A COMPACT GRAVITING BED OF SAID PEBBLES IN SAID REACTION ZONE; INTRODUCING A STREAM OF SAID HYDROCABON IN LIQUID FORM TO THE LOWER PORTION OF SAID BED OF PEBBLES UNDER CONDITIONS SO AS TO VAPORIZE A SUBSTANTIAL PORTION OF SAID HYDROCARBON; PASSING THE VAPORIZED HYDROCARBON UPWARDLY THROUGH SAID REACTION ZONE AT A UNIFORMLY INCREASING FLOW RATE AND A CONTACT TIME IN THE RANGE OF 0.5 TO 0.0001 SECOND SO AS TO CRACK THE SAME TO LIGHTER HYDROCARBONS; TRANSFERRING PEBBLES FROM THE BOTTOM OF SAID CRACKING ZONE TO A HEATING ZONE ABOVE SAID CRACKING ZONE; CONTACTING THE PEBBLES IN SAID HEATING ZONE WITH A STREAM OF HOT COMBUSTION GAS SO AS TO HEAT SAME TO A TEMPERATURE ABOVE SAID CRACKING TEMPERATURE; GRAVITATING THE REHEATED PEBBLES TO SAID CRACKING ZONE; COKING THE UNVAPORIZED PORTION OF SAID HYDROCARBON ON THE PEBBLES IN THE LOWER PORTION OF SAID ZONE, AND RECOVERING AN EFFLUENT FROM SAID CRACKING ZONE.