Fluid coking

Claim 1

IN A COKING PROCESS FOR UPGRADING HEAVY PETROLEUM FRACTIONS, IN WHICH A FLUIDIZED BED OF HEATED COKE IS CONTINUOUSLY SPRAYED WITH A FRESH FEED OF SAID FRACTIONS TO PRODUCE THERMAL CRACKING THEREOF INTO A VAPOROUS EFFLUENT AND ADDITIONAL COKE, SAID VAPOROUS EFFLUENT BEING SEPARATED FROM COKE PARTICLES AND TRANSFERRED UPWARDLY TO A QUENCHING ZONE WHILE THE COKE IS CYCLED THROUGH A HEATING ZONE FOR REUSE, THE NOVEL STEPS OF CONVEYING FRESHLY HEATED COKE IN A DOWNWARDLY AND OUTWARDLY FLOWING STREAM AROUND AND SEPARATED FROM THE UPWARDLY FLOWING EFFLUENT SO AS TO HEAT IT WITHOUT DIRECT CONTACT THEREBETWEEN AND SO THAT THE TEMPERATURE IMPARTED TO SAID EFFLUENT IS HIGHEST AT THE TOP AND RISES GRADUALLY AND CONSISTENTLY DURING THE UPWARD PASSAGE OF SAID EFFLUENT, MAINTAINING SAID SEPARATION TO A POINT JUST ABOVE THE BED LEVEL, AND THERE ADDING SAID DOWNWARDLY FLOWING STREAM OF COKE TO SAID COKE BED, WHILE SPRAYING JETS OF STREAM DOWNWARDLY AT THE POINT WHERE THE SEPARATION OF SAID EFFLUENT FROM SAID DOWNWARDLY FLOWING STREAM OF