Method and apparatus for pneumatically lifting granular contact material

Claim 1

IN A CYCLIC HYDROCARBON CONVERSION PROCESS IN WHICH A GRANULAR CONTACT MATERIAL IS GRAVITATED DOWNWARDLY AS SUBSTANTIALLY COMPACT COLUMNS THROUGH CONVERSION AND RECONDITIONING ZONES AND THE GRANULAR MATERIAL IS LIFTED FROM A LOCATION BENEATH ONE OF THE ZONES TO A LOCATION ABOVE THE OTHER ZONE THROUGH A SUBSTANTIALLY VERTICAL ELONGATED LIFT PASSAGE, THE IMPROVED METHOD OF LIFTING THE MATERIAL WITHOUTH EXCESSIVE ATTRITION COMPRISING: DELIVERING A PRIMARY LIFT GAS STREAM THROUGH A HORIZONTAL PASSAGE TO A LOCATION BENEATH THE LIFT PASSAGE, SPLITTING THE LIFT GAS STREAM IN SAID PASSAGE INTO A MULTIPLICITY OF SMALLER STREAMS AND TRANSFERRING THESE STREAMS THROUGH CURVED PATHS TO DISCHARGE IN A VERTICALY UPWARD DIRECTION INTO A VERTICAL PASSAGE SO AS TO CHANGE THE DIRECTION OF FLOW OF THE PRIMARY GAS STREAM FROM HORIZONTAL TO VERTICAL, SAID VERTICAL PASSAGE BEING SUBSTANTIALLY COAXIAL WITH THE LIFT PASSAGE, SPLITTING THE LIFT GAS INTO A MULTIPLICITY OF STREAMS OF GAS WHICH ARE UNIFORMLY DISTRIBUTED ACROSS THE VERTICAL PASSAGE AND THROTTLING THE GAS FLOW THROUGH EACH STREAM SUBSTANTIALLY EQUAL AMOUNTS, SO AS TO EFFECTIVELY EQUALIZE THE GAS FLOW THROUGH EACH STREAM, PASSING THE STREAMS UPWARDLY ALONG PATHS SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL TO THE CENTERLINE OF THE LIFT PASSAGE, THE CROSS-SECTION OF EACH STREAM BEING SUBSTANTIALLY UNIFORM DURING PASSAGE ALONG THE VERTICAL PATHS AND THE CROSS-SECTION OF EACH BEING