Fluidized fixed bed process and apparatus

Claim 1

A CATALYTIC CONVERSION PROCESS COMPRISING CONTACTING A NON-CARBONIZABLE GASEOUS REACTANT AND A SECOND REACTANT WHICH CONTAINS CARBONIZABLE, DIFFICULTY VAPORIZABLE CONSTITUENTS THAT REMAIN AT LEAST TEMPORARILY IN THE LIQUID PHASE AT CONVERSION CONDITIONS, WITH CATALYST AT CONDITIONS OF TEMPERATURE AND PRESSURE THAT ARE ADAPTED TO PROMOTE INTER-REACTION OF SAID REACTANTS, SAID CONTACTING BEING CARRIED OUT IN A REACTION ZONE CONTAINING A DENSE-PHASE FLUIDIZED FIXED BED OF CATALYST, WHEREIN THE LINEAR VAPOR VELOCITY IS NOT MORE THAN ABOUT 0.3 FEET PER SECOND, SAID REACTION ZONE BEING SUBDIVIDED AT LEAST THROUGH THE GREATER PORTION OF ITS DEPTH INTO A PLURALITY OF ADJACENT, PARALLEL, SUBSTANTIALLY COEXTENSIVE, VERTICAL ZONES, EACH OF WHICH SUBDIVIDED ZONES HAS A LENGTH TO EFFECTIVE DIAMETER RATIO OF FROM ABOUT 6:1 TO ABOUT 15:1 AND A CROSS-SECTIONAL AREA BETWEEN ABOUT 0.5 AND ABOUT 20 SQUARE FEET, IN EACH OF WHICH SUBDIVIDED ZONES THE CATALYST PARTICLES CIRCULATE CYCLICALLY BETWEEN THE UPPER AND LOWER EXTREMITIES OF THE DENSE-PHASE CATALYST BED, SAID CONTACTING BEING EFFECTED BY INTRODUCING THE NON-CARBONIZABLE GASEOUS REACTANT IN EQUAL AMOUNTS INTO THE BOTTOM OF EACH OF THE SUBDIVIDED ZONES WHERE CATALYST CIRCULATION IS RELATIVELY LOW, AND BY PASSING SAID SECOND REACTANT IN EQUAL AMOUNTS DOWNWARDLY IN ELONGATED CONFINED PATHS WITHIN THE DENSEPHASE CATALYST IN THE SUBDIVIDED ZONES WHILE MAINTAINING SAID SECOND REACTANT OUT OF CONTACT WITH THE CATALYST, THEREBY FORMING CONSTRICTED REGIONS BESIDE SAID CONFINED PATHS IN SAID SUBDIVIDED ZONES, IN WHICH CONSTRICTED REGIONS THE CATALYST CIRCULATION AND VAPOR VELOCITY ARE GREATER THAN ELSEWHERE IN THE SUBDIVIDED ZONES, AND PASSING SAID SECOND REACTANT FROM SAID ELONGATED CONFINED PATHS INTO SAID CONSTRICTED REGIONS AT SUBSTANTIALLY ELEVATED LEVELS IN SAID SUBDIVIDED ZONES, THE INITIAL CONTACT OF SAID NON-CARBONIZABLE GASEOUS REACTANT, CATALYST AND SAID SECOND REACTANT BEING EFFECTED IN SAID CONSTRICTED REGIONS, EFFECTING A REACTION BETWEEN SAID REACTANTS, WITHDRAWING CONVERTED PRODUCTS AND CONTINUING TO CONTACT ADDITIONAL QUANTITIES OF REACTANTS WITH THE SAME CATALYST PARTICLES WITHOUT SUBSTANTIAL INTERVENING REGENERATION OF THE LATTER UNTIL THE END OF A PROCESSING PERIOD.