Process and apparatus for solids-fluid contacting

Claim 1

IN A PROCESS FOR UPGRADING HYDROCARBON FRACTIONS WHICH COMPRISES RECIRCULATING A STREAM OF CATALYST SOLIDS SUCCESSIVELY THROUGH A HYDROCARBON UPGRADING ZONE AND A CATALYST CONVEYANCE-REGENERATION ZONE, THE IMPROVEMENT WHICH COMPRISES PASSING THE SPENT CATALYST FROM SAID UPGRADING ZONE INTO A DENSIE ACCUMULATION OF CATALYST SUBMERGING THE LOWER INLET OF SAID CONVEYANCE-REGENERATION ZONE, PASSING A REGENERATION GAS THROUGH SAID ACCUMULATION AND THENCE UPWARDLY THROUGH AND CONCURRENTLY WITH MERGING THE LOWER INLET OF SAID CONVEYANCE-REGNERATION ZONE TO EFFECT REGENERATION THEREOF, DISCHARGING THE REGENERATED CATALYST INTO AN INTERMEDIATE DISENGAGING ZONE, CONTINUOUSLY DISENGAGING THE MOTOR PORTION OF SPENT REGENERATION GAS THEREFROM, REPRESSURING SAID MAJOR PORTION OF SPENT REGENERATION GAS AND RECYCLING THE SAME TO THE INLET OF SAID CONVEYANCE-REGENERATION ZONE TOGETHER WITH FRESH REGENERATION FLUID, SIMULTANEOUSLY PASSING SAID REGENERATED CATALYST AND THE REMAINING MINOR PORTION OF SAID SPENT REGENERATION GAS UPWARDLY FROM SAID INTERMEDIATE ZONE THROUGH A SECOND CONVEYANCE ZONE TO THE TOP OF SAID UPGRADING ZONE, SEPARATELY CONTROLLING THE FLOW OF GAS THROUGH SAID CONVEYANCE-REGENERATION AND SECOND CONVEYANCE ZONES AT RATES EACH SUFFICIENT TO GENERATE THROUGHOUT THE UPWARDLY MOVING CATALYST MASS IN SAID CONVEYANCE ZONES A PRESSURE GRADIENT SUFFICIENT TO OVER-