Refractory regenerative catalytic process

Claim 1

A CONTINUOUS, CATALYTIC, CYCLIC, REGENERATIVE PROCESS FOR CARRYING OUT ENDOTHERMIC GAS REACTIONS AT HIGH TEMPERATURE TO PRODUCE ENDOTHERMIC REACTION PRODUCTS WHICH COMPRISES PREHEATING A MIXTURE A GASEOUS ENDOTHERMICALLY ALTERABLE STARTING MATERIAL COMPRISING HYDROCARBON AND A FREE OXYGEN-CONTAINING GAS TO ENDOTHERMIC ALTERATION TEMPERATURES OF SAID STARTING MATERIAL BY LINEARLY FLOWING SAID MIXTURE THROUGH A PLURALITY OF STRAIGHT FLUES, UNINTERRUPTED THROUGHOUT THEIR LENGTH, OF A FIRST REGENERATIVE MASS WHICH IS PROGRESSIVELY HOTTER IN THE DIRECTION OF GAS FLOW, BURNING A PORTION OF AND SIMULTANEOUSLY CATALYTICALLY ENDOTHERMICALLY ALTERING SUBSTANTIALLY THE REMAINDER OF SAID STARTING MATERIAL BY FLOWING THE SAME THROUGH A COMBUSTION AND ENDOTHERMIC ALTERATION ZONE WHICH HAS A CATALYST DISPOSED THEREIN, SAID BURNING BEING CONTROLLED TO SUPPLY ALL OF THE HEAT REQUIRED FOR SAID ENDOTHERMIC ALTERATION BY CONTROLLING THE AMOUNT OF FREE OXYGEN-CONTAINING GAS PRESENT IN SAID MIXTURE, COOLING THE REACTION PRODUCTS EMERGING FROM SAID COMBUSTION AND ENDOTHERMIC ALTERATION ZONE BY LINEARLY FLOWING THE SAME THROUGH A PLURALITY OF STRAIGHT FLUES, UNINTERRUPTED THROUGHOUT THEIR LENGTH, OF A SECOND REGENERATIVE MASS WHICH IS PROGRESSIVELY COOLER IN THE DIRECTION OF GAS FLOW, THE DIRECTION OF FLOW OF GASES THROUGH SAID REGENERATIVE MASSES AND SAID COMBUSTION AND ALTERATION ZONE BEING REVERSED PERIODICALLY, SAID REVERSAL BEING EFFECTED SUBSTANTIALLY INSTANTANEOUSLY, THE HEAT WITHDRAWN FROM THE REACTION PRODUCTS AND STORED IN ONE OF SAID REGENERATIVE MASSES TO COOL SAID PRODUCTS DURIN AS FLOW IN ONE DIRECTION BEING SUFFICIENT TO PREHEAT SAID MIXTURE TO ENDOTHERMIC ALTERATION TEMPERATURE DURING GAS FLOW IN THE REVERSE DIRECTION, THEREBY AVOIDING THE NECESSITY OF A SEPARATE REHEATING STEP, THE MAXIMUM STRAIGHT CROSS-SECTIONAL DIMENSION OF SAID FLUES NOT EXCEEDING 0.75 INCH, SAID FLUES BEING DISTRIBUTED SUBSTANTIALLY UNIFORMLY THROUGHOUT EACH OF SAID MASSES.