Fluid hydroforming process

Claim 1

IN A PROCESS FOR HYDROFORMING HYDROCARBONS IN THE NAPHTHA BOILING RANGE USING A FINELY DIVIDED SOLID METAL OXIDE HYDROFORMING CATALYST ACCORDING TO THE FLUIDIZED SOLIDS TECHNIQUE, THE IMPROVEMENT WHICH COMPRISES CONTINUOUSLY WITHDRAWING A DENSE FLUIDIZED STREAM OF SPENT CATALYST PARTICLES FROM A FLUID BED OF CATALYST MAINTAINED WITHIN A REACTION ZONE, CONVEYING THE SAID SPENT CATALYST PARTICLES TO A SEPARATE REGENERATION ZONE, SUBJECTING THE SPENT CATALYST ENTERING SAID REGENERATION ZONE TO THE ACTION OF AN OXIDIZING GAS CONTAINING EXCESS OXYGEN, THEREBY AT LEAST PARTLY REMOVING FROM THE SPENT CATALYST CARBONACEOUS DEPOSITS FORMED THEREON DURING THE HYDROFORMING REACTION, MAINTAINING THE CATALYST IN SAID REGENERATION ZONE IN THE FORM OF A FLUID BED, WITHDRAWING OXIDIZED AND REGENERATED CATALYST DOWNWARDLY FROM SAID FLUID BED, MAINTAINING THE STREAM OF REGENERATED CATALYST THUS WITH DRAWN IN THE DENSE FLUID CONDITION BY THE ADDITION OF ONLY SMALL AMOUNTS OF A NON-REDUCING AERATING GAS, CONVEYING THIS DENSE FLUIDIZED STREAM UPWARDLY TO ENTER THE HYDROFORMING REACTOR AT A POINT ABOVE THE LEVEL OF THE FLUID BED OF HYDROFORMING CATALYST MAINTAINED THEREIN, MAINTAINING A STRIPPING SECTION AT AN UPPER LEVEL WITHIN SAID REACTOR, CAUSING SAID REGENERATED CATALYST STREAM TO ENTER SAID STRIPPING SECTION AND TO FALL THEREIN COUNTERCURRENTLY TO A RISING STREAM OF A REDUCING AND STRIPPING GAS PRESENT IN AN AMOUNT SUFFICIENT TO PARTIALLY REDUCE THE OXIDIZED CATALYST AND TO ENTIRELY REMOVE THE WATER VAPOR FORMED BY SAID PARTIAL REDUCTION, FEEDING A HYDROGEN-CONTAINING REDUCING GAS TO SAID STRIPPING SECTION AT A POINT ABOVE SAID FLUID BED LEVEL, REMOVING THE STRIPPING GAS OVERHEAD OUT OF CONTACT WITH THE CATALYST IN SAID FLUID BED BUT IN MIXTURE WITH THE VAPOROUS REACTION PRODUCTS FROM SAID FLUID BED AND PASSING STRIPPED CATALYST DOWNWARD FROM SAID STRIPPING ZONE INTO THE MAIN FLUID BED OF HYDROFORMING CATALYST.