Separating and cracking of shale oil from oil shale

Claim 1

A CONTINUOUS METHOD FOR SIMULTANEOUSLY DISTILLING ANC CATALTICALLY CRACKING SHALE OIL FROM CRUSHED PARTICLES OF OIL SHALE, WHICH COMPRISES COMMINGLING OIL SHALE PARTICLES AND HEATED CATALYST PARTICLES IN AN ELEVATED RETORTINGCRACKING ZONE, BOTH PARTICLES BEING GRANULAR AND SAID CATALYST PARTICLES BEING LARGELY OF A SMALLER SIZE THAN SAID OIL SHALE PARTICLES, SAID CATALYST PARTICLES BEING OF THE ORDER OF AT LEAST ABOUT 1/16 INCH IN SIZE AND BEING HEATED IN A REGENERATION ZONE TO A TEMPERATURE OF ABOUT 1100*-1400* F. AND BEING OF A QUANTITY RELATIVE TO SAID OIL SHALE PARTICLES SUFFICIENT TO EFFECT A RISE IN TEMPERATURE OF SAID OIL SHALE PARTICLES UPON COMMINGLING IN SAID RETORTING-CRACKING ZONE TO ABOUT 850*F.-950*F.; PASSING THE COMMINGLED PARTICLES THROUGH SAID ZONE AS A DENSE DESCENDING MOVING BED AT A TEMPERATURE OF ABOUT 650*F.-950*F. AT WHICH TEMPERATURES DISINTEGRATION OF SAID SHALE PARTICLES SUBSTANTIALLY IS PREVENTED, EFFECTING THE DISTILLATION OF HYDROCARBON VAPORS FROM SAID SHALE PARTICLES AND EFFECTING CATALYST CRACKING THEREOFF SIMULTANEOUSLY WHILE SAID HYDROCARBON VAPORS MOVE DOWNWARDLY THROUGH SAID DENSE DESCENDING MOVING BED, CONSEQUENTLY DEPOSITING CARBONACEOUS MATTER ON SAID CATALYST PARTICLES; REMOVING SAID SHALE AND CATALYST PARTICLES DOWNWARDLY FROM THE BOTTOM OF SAID DESCENDING BED IN A CONTINUOUS GRAVITY FLOW CONDITION TO A CLASSIFICATION ZONE EFFECTING A SEPARATION OF AT LEAST A MAJOR PORTION OF SAID SHALE PARTICLES FROM SAID SMALLER CATALYST PARTICLES AND SMALL SHALE PARTICLES; REMOVING SAID CATALYST PARTICLES AND ENTRAINED SMALL SHALE PARTICLES IN A CONTINOUS GRAVITY FLOW CONDITION TO A REGENERATION ZONE, PASSING SAID PARTICLES THROUGH SAID ZONE AS A DESCENDING MOVING BED TO A TEMPERATURE OF ABOUT 600*F.-1400*.; EFFECTING BURNING, WITH A COMBUSTIONSUPPORTING GAS, OF CARBONACEOUS MATTER DEPOSITED ON SAID CATALYST PARTICLES TO A TEMPERATURE OF ABOUT 1100*F.1400*F. AMD TO EFFECT DISINTEGRATION OF ENTAINED SMALL SHALE PARTICLES INTO SHALE FINES OF SIZE SMALLER THAN THE CATALYST PARTICLES; LIFTING SAID HEATED CATALYST PARTICLES AND SHALE FINES TO SEPARATION ZONE ELEVATED ABOVE THE HEREINBEFORE MENTIONED RETORTING-CRACKING ZONE, EFFECTING THEREIN A SEPARATION OF SUBSTANTIALLY ALL SAID SHALE FINES FROM SAID HEATED CATALYST PARTICELS, AND RECYCLING SAID HEATED CATALYST PARTICLES IN A CONTINUOUS GRAVITY FLOW CON DITION TO SAID RETORTING-CRACKING ZONE, WHEREBY SUBSTANTIALLY NO SHALE FINES ARE RECYCLED TO SAID RETORTING-CRACKING ZONE.