Hydrogenation of petroleum oils with "shot" size catalyst and regeneration catalyst

Claim 1

A CONTINUOUS METHOD FOR HYDROGENATING PETROLEUM OILS AT 600* TO 1000* F. AND 100 TO 4000 P.S.I.G. PRESSURE WHICH COMPRISES CHARGING THE OIL AND HYDROGEN TO A BOTTOM PORTION OF A TREATING VESSEL, CHARGING A CATALYST OF "SHOT" SIZE OF AT LEAST 200 MICRONS TO AN UPPER PORTION OF THE TREATING ZONE WHEREIN IT FLOWS COUNTERCURRENTLY DOWNWARDLY AGAINST THE UPWARD FLOWING OIL OF SPACE VELOCITY FROM 0.1 TO 16 W./HR./W. OF CATALYST AND HYDROGEN CONTAINING GAS, PERMITTING THE OIL, HYDROGEN AND THE CATALYST TO CONTACT EACH OTHER FOR A PERIOD OF TIME SUFFICIENT TO EFFECT THE DESIRED CONVERSION, WITHDRAWING CATALYST FROM THE BOTTOM OF THE TREATING ZONE CONVEYING IT TO THE TOP OF A REGENERATION ZONE CONTAINING A BED OF FLUIDIZED INERT MATERIAL OF SMALLER PARTICLE SIZE THAN THE CATALYST FOR REMOVING HEAT THEREFROM, TREATING TAHE CATALYST WITH OXYGEN-CONTAINING GAS INTRODUCED AT A LOWER POINT OF THE REGENERATION ZONE WHEREBY DEPOSITS ON THE CATALYST ARE CONSUMMED BY COMBUSTION AND REMOVED OVERHEAD AS FUMES, ELUTRIATING THE INERT MATERIAL FROM THE CATALYST, RETURNING THE REGENERATED CATALYST FREED OF DEPOSITS AND OF SAID INERT MATERIAL TO AN UPPER PORTION OF THE TREATING ZONE AND RECOVERING A HYDROGENATED PRODUCT.