Conversion of fluid hydrocarbon in the presence of a moving mass of granular catalyst

Claim 1

A CATALYTIC CRACKING PROCESS FOR THE CONVERSION OF A FLUID HYDROCARBON CHARGE IN THE PRESENCE OF A MOVING MASS OF GRANULAR CATALYST MAINTAINED WITHIN A CONFINED CONVERSION ZONE, SAID FLUID CHARGE CONTAINING CONSTITUENTS WHICH ARE VAPORIZABLE AND OTHER CONSTITUENTS WHICH ARE NOT VAPORIZABLE AT CONDITIONS MAINTAINED WITHIN THE CONVERSION ZONE, WHICH COMPRISES: SUPPLYING FRESH CATALYST AT A TEMPERATURE SUITABLE TO SUPPLY A SUBSTANTIAL PORTION OF THE HEAT REQUIRED BY THE CONVERSION REACTON TO THE UPPER SECTION OF A DOWNWARDLY MOVING SUBSTANTIALLY COMPACT BED OF GRANULAR CATALYST WITHIN A CONFINED CONVERSION ZONE WHEREBY THE TEMPERATURE OF THE CATALYST SUPPLIED TO SAID BED IS SUBSTANTIALLY ABOVE THE OPTIMUM TEMPERATURE FOR THE CONVERSION OF THE NON-VAPORIZABLE PORTION OF THE FLUID HYDROCARBON CHARGE, SUPPLYING THE VAPORIZABLE PORTIONS OF SAID CHARGES AS A VAPORIZED CHARGE INTO THE UPPER SECTION OF SAID BED AND PASSING THE VAPORIZED CHARGE DOWNWARDLY THERETHROUGH, MAINTAINING A CONFINED SUBSTANTIALLY VERTICAL MIXING ZONE OF RESTRICTED HORIZONTAL CROSS-SECTION ALONG MOST OF ITS LENGTH AMOUNTING TO ONLY A MINOR FRACTION OF THE HORIZONTAL CROSS-SECTION OF SAID BED WITHIN SAID BED WITH UPPER END AT A LEVEL SUBSTANTIALLY BELOW THE UPPER SURFACE OF SAID BED AND PASSING A PORTION OF THE CATALYST FROM SAID BED WHICH HAS BEEN PARTIALLY SPENT AND COOLED BY SAID VAPORIZED CHARGE INTO THE UPPER END OF SAID MIXING ZONE AND DOWNWARDLY THERETHROUGH IN A ZIGZAG PATH, INJECTING THE NON-VAPORIZABLE PORTIONS OF SAID CHARGE AS A LIQUID CHARGE INTO THE UPPER SECTION OF SAID MIXING ZONE AND PASSING THE LIQUID CHARGE DOWNWARDLY THERETHROUGH WITH THE CATALYST TO BECOME MIXED THEREWITH, MIXING THE LIQUID CHARGE AND CATALYST BACK INTO THE PORTION OF THE CATALYST WHICH PASSED AROUND SAID MIXING ZONE AND PASSING LIQUID AND VAPOR CHARGES DOWNWARDLY THROUGH THE PORTION OF THE BED BELOW SAID MIXING ZONE TO COMPLETE THE CONVERSION TO GASEOUS PRODUCTS, REMOVING SAID GASEOUS PRODUCTS FROM THE LOWER SECTION OF SAID CONVERSION ZONE AND REMOVING SPENT CATALYST FROM THE LOWER SECTION OF SAID BED SEPARATELY OF THE GASEOUS PRODUCTS.