Process of hydrogen recovery and recycle

Claim 1

IN A PROCESS FOR REFORMING HYDROCARBON FEEDSTOCKS IN THE PRESENCE OF A REFORMING CATALYST AND RECYCLE HYDROGEN GAS, THE IMPROVED METHOD OF SEPARATING HYDROGEN GAS FROM THE HOT EFFLUENT FROM THE REFORMING ZONE AND FOR RECYCLING SAID HYDROGEN GAS TO THE REFORMING ZONE WHICH COMPRISES: CONTACTING THE HOT EFFLUENT FROM THE REFORMING ZONE IN AN ABSORPTION ZONE WITH A MOLTEN METAL CONTACT MEDIUM COMPRISING A MOLTEN METAL SELECTED FROM THE GROUP CONSISTING OF ALKALI AND ALKALINE EARTH METALS CAPABLE OF FORMING AN EQUILIBRIUM METAL HYDRIDE WITH HYDROGEN AT A TEMPERATURE IN THE RANGE OF ABOUT 500*1000*F., WHILE MAINTAINING A TEMPERATURE-PRESSURE RELATIONSHIP WITHIN THE ABSORPTION ZONE PROVIDING A TEMPERATURE LESS THAN THE DECOMPOSITION TEMPERATURE OF THE METAL HYDRIDE AT THE PREVAILING HYDROGEN PARTIAL PRESSURE, WHEREBY HYDROGEN IN THE HOT EFFLUENT IS ABSORBED IN THE MOLTEN METAL CONTACT MEDIUM AS A METAL HYDRIDE; SEPARATING THE MOLTEN METAL CONTACT MEDIUM FROM THE UNABSORBED REFORMING EFFLUENT; REGENERATING HYDROGEN GAS FROM THE MOLTEN METAL CONTACT MEDIUM BY ADJUSTING THE TEMPERATURE-PRESSURE RELATIONSHIP TO PROVIDE A TEMPERATURE GREATER THAN THE DECOMPOSITION TEMPERATURE OF THE METAL HYDRIDE AT THE PREVAILING HYDROGEN PARTIAL PRESSURE; AND RECYCLING SAID REGENERATED HYDROGEN GAS TO THE REFORMING ZONE.