High-temperature, low-contact time coking process

Claim 1

A PROCESS FOR THE CONVERSION OF PETROLEUM PITCH TO COKE AND UNSATURATED VOLATILE HYDROCARBONS COMPRISING INTRODUING TANGENTIALLY INTO A CYCLONE REACTOR AT A VELOCITY OF 50 TO 200 FEET PER SECOND COKE PARTICLES AT A TEMPERATURE IN THE RANGE OF 1500*F. TO 2500*F. AND HAVING A PARTICLE SIZE IN THE RANGE OF ABOUT 20 TO 80 MESH, SUSPENED IN A TRANSFER GAS TO FORM A DENSE STREAM OF COKE PARTICLES SWIRLING AROUND THE WALL OF THE REACTOR SURROUNDING A SUBSTANTIALLY SOLIDS FREE VORTEX IN THE CENTER OF THE REACTOR, INTRODUCING TANGENTIALLY INTO THE CYCLONE REACTOR IN THE DIRECTION OF MOVEMENT OF THE COKE PARTICLES AND DIRECTLY INTO THE DENSE STREAM OF COKE PARTICLES OF COKABLE CARBONACEOUS SOLIDS WHICH PASS THROUGH A PLASTIC STAGE AS THEY ARE HEATED TO COKING TEMPERATURES SUSPENDED IN A TRANSFER GAS AT A TEMPERATURE BELOW ABOUT 250*F., SAID PARTICLES HAVING A PARTICLE SIZE IN THE RANGE OF ABOUT 50 TO 200 MESH, THE RATIO OF THE WEIGHT OF COKE CHARGED TO THE CYCLONE REACTOR TO THE WEIGHT OF COKABLE CARBONACEOUS SOLIDS CHARGED TO THE CYCLONE REACTOR BEING IN THE RANGE OF 3:1 TO 50:1 ADAPTED TO MAINTAIN THE TEMPERATURE IN THE REACTOR IN THE RANGE OF 1400*F. TO 2200* F., THE INTERNAL CIRCULATION OF THE COKABLE CARBONACEOUS SOLIDS SWIRLING AROUND THE WALL OF THE CYCLONE REACTOR GIVING AN EFFECTIVE RATIO OF COKE TO CAKABLE CARBONACEOUS SOLIDS MIXED THEREWITH HIGHER THAN THE RATIO IN WHICH THE TWO MATERIALS ARE CHANGED TO THE REACTOR WHEREBY AN EXTREMELY THIN LAYER OF COKABLE CARBONACEOUS MATERIAL IS DEPOSITED ON THE COKE PARTICLES AND HEATED RAPIDLY TO CONVERSION TEMPERATURE, RAPIDLY SEPARATING VOLATILE REACTION PRODUCTS FROM THE COKE IN THE CYCLONE REACTOR AND QUENCHING THE SEPARATED VOLATILE REACTION PRODUCTS TO LIMIT THE TIME THE VOLATILE REACTION PRODUCTS ARE AT CONVERSION TEMPERATED TO 0.1 TO 5.0 SECONDS, PASSING COKE PARTICLES SEPARATED FROM THE VOLATILE REACTION PRODUCTS DOWNWARDLY THROUGH A COLUMN MAINTAINED AT CONVERSION TEMPERATURES TO COMPLETE COKING OF HYDROCARBONS THEREON, TRANSFERRING HOT COKE PARTICLES FROM THE COLUMN TO A HEATER CONTAINING A FLUIDIZED BED OF HOT COKE PARTICLES, PASSING AN OXYGENCONTAINING GAS UPWARDLY THROUGH THE FLUIDIZED BED OF COKE PARTICLES TO BURN A PORTION OF THE COKE AND THEREBY SUPPLY HEAT FOR THE PROCESS, WITHDRAWING COKE PARTICLES FROM THE SYSTEM, AND RECYCLING HOT COKE PARTICLES FROM THE HEAT INTO THE CYCLONE REACTOR TO SUPPLY HEAT FOR THE CONVERSION PROCESS.