Hydrodealkylation of alkylaromatic hydrocarbons

Claim 1

A CONTINUOUS PROCESS FOR THE PRODUCTION OF NAPTHALENE BY THERMAL HYDRODEALKYLATION WHICH COMPRISES PREHEATING A CHARGE COMPRISING HYDROGEN AND A NORMALLY LIQUID HYDROCARBON FEED STOCK CONTAININGG A SUBSTANTIAL AMOUNT OF NAPHTHALENE PRECURSOR MATERIAL AND MORE THAN ABOUT 10% BY WEIGHT OF NONAROMATIC HYDROCARBONS AND HAVING AN END BOILING POINT SUBSTANTIALLY ABOVE 525*F. IN WHICH THE QUANTITY OF HYDROGEN AMOUNTS TO BETWEEN ABOUT 8400 AND 21,000 STANDARD CUBIC FEET PER BARREL OF SAID LIQUID FEED STOCK, INJECTING SAID PREHEATED CHARGE IN GASEOUS FORM INTO A CLOSED REACTION VESSEL AS A JET HAVING AN INITIAL VELOCITY BETWEEN ABOUT 100 AND 850 FEET PER SECOND TO INDUCE RAPID AND THROUGH MIXING OF THE REACTION MIXTURE IN SAID VESSEL AND MAINTAIN THE REACTION TEMPERATURES THROUGHOUT SAID VESSEL SUBSTANTIALLY CONSTANT WITHIN 20*F. OF A PRESELECTED HYDRODEALKYLATION REACTION TEMPERATURE BUT NOT BELOW ABOUT 1200*F. AND NOT SUBSTANABOUT 1400*F., MAINTAINING SAID VESSEL UNDER A SUBSTANTIALLY CONSTANT REACTION PRESSURE OF BETWEEN ABOUT 250 AND 800 P.S.I.G., AND WITHDRAWING SAID REACTION MIXTURE FROM SAID VESSEL AS THE DEALKYLATION PRODUCT AT A RATE CORRESPONDING TO THE RATE OF INTRODUCING SAID CHARGE THEREIN.