Conversion of liquid hydrocarbon in the presence of a gaseous reactant and particle-form solid catalytic material

Claim 1

A METHOD OF HYROCARBON CONVERSION WHICH COMPRISES ESTABLISHING A PLURALITY OF CONVERSION ZONES AT REACTION TEMPERATURE AND PRESSURE EACH CONTAINING A STATIC BED OF PARTICLE-FORM SOLID CATALYST, INTRODUCING PREDOMINANTLY LIQUID HYDROCARBON AT REACTION TEMPERATURE AND PRESSURE INTO THE FIRST OF SAID CONVERSION ZONES, FLOWING SAID PREDOMINANTLY LIQUID HYDROCARBON SUCCESSIVELY FROM SAID FIRST CONVERSION ZONE THROUGH EACH INTERMEDIATE CONVERSION ZONE AND THROUGH SAID LAST CONVERSION ZONE IN CONTACT WITH SAID CATALYST IN EACH OF SAID ZONES, INTRODUCING GASEOUS REACTANT AT REACTION PRESSURE AND AT LEAST REACTION TEMPERATURE INTO THE LAST OF SAID CONVERSION ZONES, FLOWING GASEOUS REACTANT SUCCESSIVELY FROM SAID LAST CONVERSION ZONE THROUGH EACH INTERMEDIATE CONVERSION ZONE AND THROUGH SAID FIRST CONVERSION ZONE IN CONTACT WITH SAID CATALYST IN EACH OF SAID ZONES, IN EACH OF SAID CONVERSION ZONES THE LIQUID HYDROCARBON BEING INTRODUCED AT ONE SIDE OF SAID STATIC BED OF CATALYST AND THE GASEOUS REACTANT BEING INTRODUCED AT THE OPPOSING SIDE OF SAID STATIC BED OF CATALYST, WEHREBY THE FLOW OF LIQUID HYDROCARBON AND GASEOUS REACTANT IS COUNTERCURRENT IN EACH OF SAID CONVERSION ZONES, WITHDRAWING GASEOUS REACTACT FROM SAID FIRST ZONE, AND WITHDRAWING TREATED LIQUID HYDROCARBON FROM SAID LAST ZONE.