Hydrocoking of residual oils

Claim 1

A PROCESS FOR CONVERTING A HEAVY HYDROCARBON OIL BOILING PREDOMINANTLY ABOVE 900* F. INTO LIGHTER HYDROCARBON PRODUCTS COMPRISING A SUBSTANTIAL GAS OIL FRACTION BOILING PREDOMINANTLY BELOW 900* F., WHICH COMPRISES PREHEATING SAID HEAVY OIL TO A TEMPERATURE BETWEEN ABOUT 500* AND 800* F., INTRODUCING THE PREHEATED OIL INTO A COKING ZONE CONTAINING A MASS OF FINELY DIVIED ACTIVATED COKE AT A TEMPERATURE OF ABOUT 900* TO 1100* F., A TOTAL PRESSURE OF FROM 200 TO 1000 P.S.I.G. AND UNDER A PARATIAL HYDROGEN PRESSURE OF ABOUT 100 TO 500 P.S.I., PASSING A HYDROGEN-CONTAINING GAS FROM AN ACTIVATION ZONE, REFERRED TO HEREINAFTER, UPWARDLY THROUGH SAID COKING ZONE AT A VELOCITY SUFFUCIENT TO MAINTAIN SAID MASS OF ACTIVAED COKE IN A DENSE, FLUIDIZED CONDITION, REMOVING CONVERTED HYDROCARBON VAPORS OVERHEAD FROM SID COKING ZONE, REMOVING SPENT COKE PARTICLES FROM SAID COKING ZONE, PASSING AT LEAST A PORTION OF SAID REMOVED SPENT COKE PARTICLES TO SAID ACTIVATION ZONE, PASSING AN ACTIVATING GAS CONSISTING ESSENTIALLY OF STEAM UPWARDLY THROUGH SAID ACTIVATION ZONE AT A TEMPERATURE BETWEEN ABOUT 1700* AND 1900* F., A PRESSURE OF ABOUT 100 TO 1000 P.S.I.G. AND AT A FLUIDIZING VELOCITY ADAPTED TO MAINTAIN SAID SPENT COKE PARTICLES IN THE FORM OF A DENSE, TURBULENT FLUIDIZED MASS, THEREBY PRODUCING HYDROGEN AND ACTIVATED COKE PARTICLES HAVING A SURFACE AREA OF AT LEAST 5M.2/G., PASSING SAID ACTIVATED COKE PARTICLES TO SAID COKING ZONE AT A RATE OF ABOUT 0.1 TO 5 LBS. OF COKE PER LB. OF HEAVY OIL FEED, FEEDING HYDROGEN- CONTAINING GAS PRODUCED IN SAID ACTIVATION ZONE INTO SAID COKING ZONE AT A SUFFICIENT RATE TO MAINTAIN THE AFORESAID HYDROGEN PARTIAL PRESSURE, SUPPLYING PART OF THE HEAT OF COKING BY THE INTRODUCTION OF THE HOT HYDROGEN-CONTAINING GAS FROM SAID ACTIVATION ZONE AND THE BALANCE OF TAHE HEAT OF COKING BY THE HOT ACTIVATED COKE PARTICLES, CIRCULATING SOME COKE FROM SAID ACTIVATION ZONE THROUGH AN EXTERNAL BURNING ZONE SO AS TO REHEAT THE CIRCULATING COKE AND THE CIRCULATING IT BACK TO SAID ACTIVATION ZONE TO MAINTAIN SAID ACTIVATION ZONE AT THE REQUIRED ACTIVATION TEMPERATURE, REMOVING EXCESS COKE AS COKE PRODUCT FROM SAID COKING ZONE AND UTILIZING ALL OF SAID ACTIVATED COKE FROM SAID ACTIVATION ZONE AS THE COKE FED TO SAID COKING ZONE.