Hydrolyzing and drying aluminum alcoholates with superheated steam

Claim 1

A PROCESS FOR PRODUCING SMALL SPHERICAL INTORGANIC GEL PARTICULES WHICH COMPRISES DISPERSING A SOLUTION OF A METAL ALCOHOLATE COMPOUND AT A TEMPERATURE ABOVE ABOUT 200*F. IN THE FORM OF SMALL ROPLETS INTO THE UPPER PORTION OF A VERTICAL CONTACTING ZONE FOR A DOWNWERD FLOW THERETHROUGH, INTRODUCING SUPERHEATED STREAM AT A TEMPERATURE ABOVE ABOUT 250*F. INTO THE LOWER PORTION OF SAID VERTICAL CONTACTING ZONE FOR UPWARD FLOW THERETHROUGH. CONTACTING THE DOWNWARDLY MOVING DROPLETS OF SOLUTION WITH SAID UPFLOWING SUPERHEATED STREAM IN THE UPPER PORTION OF SAID CONTACTING ZONE TO HYDROLYZED THE METAL ALCOHOLATE COMPOUND IN DROPLET FROM TO FROM METAL OXIDE PARTICLES AND TO REGENERATE THE ALCOHOL AND TO PARTIALLY DRY THE FORMED METAL OXIDE PARTICULES, FURTHER CONTACTING THE DOWNWARDLY MOVING PARTIALLY DRIED METAL OXIDE PARTICLES IN THE LOWER PORTION OF SAID CONTACTING ZONE AS THEY PASS DOWNWARDLY THERETHROUGH WITH SAID UPFLOWING SUPERHEATED STEAM AS THE SOLE DRYING GAS TO FURTHER DRY THE METAL OXIDE PARTICULES, REMOVING STEAM AND REENERATED ALCOHOL AS VAPORS AVERHEAD FROM SAID CONTACTING ZONE AND REMOVING FORMED SMALL SPHERICAL PARTICULES OF METAL OXIDE FROM THE BOTTOM OF SAID CONTACTING ZONE.