Upgrading of heavy hydrocarbonaceous residues

Claim 1

THE PROCESS OF COKING AND CRACKING HEAVY RESIDUAL HYDROCARBON OILS WHICH COMPRISES PASSING SAID OILS THROUGH A RELATIVELY DENSE FLUIDIZED BED OF CATALYTICALLY INERT PREHEATED SOLIDS, THEREBY FORMING COKE AND HYDROCARBON VAPORS, PASSING THE VAPORS OUT OF SAID ZONE INTO IMMEDIATE CONTACT WITH FINELY DIVIDED PREHEATED CRACKING CATALYST HAVING A TEMPERATURE OF AT LEAST 800* F. AND NOT GREATER THAN 1050* F. TO FORM A RELATIVELY DISPERSE SUSPENSION OF SAID CATALYST IN SAID VAPORS SO AS TO KEEP SAID VAPORS SUBSTANTIALLY CONTINUOUSLY IN CONTACT EITHER WITH SAID INERT SOLIDS OR SAID CATALYST TO PREVENT DEGRADATION THEREOF AND FORMATION OF COKE DEPOSITS, PASSING SAID SUSPENSION ALONG A NARROW RESTRICTED PATH OF SUBSTANTIAL LENGTH AT A LINEAR VELOCITY SUFFICIENT TO MAINTAIN SAID DISPERSE SUSPENSION AND FOR A TIME, 2 TO 10 SECONDS, SUFFICIENT TO ACCOMPLISH SUBSTANTIAL CRACKING OF SAID VAPORS, SEPARATING THE CATALYST FROM THE SUSPENSION AND PASSING IT THROUGH A FLUIDIZED REGENERATION ZONE WITH AN OXIDIZING GAS TO REHEAT AND REGENERATE THE CATALYST, AND TRANSFERRING HEAT FROM THE REGENERATOR BY BOTH RETURNING REGENERATED CATALYST TO THE ZONE OF SAID SUSPENSION AND BY INDIRECTLY REHEATING THE INERT SOLIDS IN THE COKING ZONE BY CIRCULATING SOLIDS IN INDIRECT HEAT EXCHANGE BETWEEN THE COKING ZONE AND THE REGENERATION ZONE.