Process for carrying out gas phase reactions

Claim 1

IN THE PROCESS FOR THERMAL DECOMPOSITION OF HALIDES OF ELEMENTS SELECTED FROM THE GROUP CONSISTING OF ALUMINUM, SILICON, TITANIUM, ZIRCONIUM, IRON AND ZINC WITH AN OXYGEN CONTAINING GAS IN THE VAPOR PHASE AT TEMPERATURES SUBSTANTIALLY BETWEEN ABOUT 800 AND 1300*C., WHEREBY TO TRANSFORM SAID HALIDES INTO THE CORRESPONDING SOLID FINELY DIVIDED OXIDES, IN WHICH SUCH HALIDES AND GAS REACTION COMPONENTS ARE INTRODUCED INTO A COMBUSTION ZONE HAVING A FLUIDIZED BED OF ABRASIVE GRANULES MAINTAINED THEREIN, THE IMPROVEMENT WHICH COMPRISES MAINTAINING SUCH BED OF ABRASIVE GRANULES IN FLUIDIZED CONDITION IN A PERIPHERALLY OUTWARDLY CONFINED VERTICAL LOWER SUB-ZONE OF GIVEN FLOW CROSS-SECTION BY INTRODUCING ONE OF SAID REACTION COMPONENTS UPWARDLY THROUGH SUCH BED OF FLUIDIZED GRANULES AND INTO A PERIPHERALLY OUTWARDLY CONFINED VERTICAL UPPER SUB-ZONE CONTIGUOUS WITH AND FLOW CONNECTED WITH THE UPPER END OF SAID LOWER SUB-ZONE AND UPWARDLY AND OUTWARDLY FLARING FROM A LOWER END FLOW CROSS-SECTION CORRESPONDING TO THAT OF THE LOWER SUB-ZONE TO AN UPPER END FLOW CROSS-SECTION CORRESPONDINGLY LARGER THAN THE LOWER END FLOW CROSS-SECTION AT A VELOCITY SUBSTANTIALLY AT LEAST AS HIGH AS THE FLUIDIZING VELOCITY FOR THE BED GRANULES YET BELOW THE VELOCITY AT WHICH SUCH BED GRANULES BECOME UPWARDLY ENTRAINED THEREBY, INTRODUCING THE OTHER OF SAID REACTION COMPONENTS SUBSTANTIALLY TANGENTIALLY INWARDLY INTO THE UPPER SUB-ZONE FROM THE PERIPHERY OF SAID UPPER SUB-ZONE NEAR THE LOWER END THEREOF YET ABOVE THE BED OF GRANULES IN SAID LOWER SUB-ZONE AND IN CROSS DIRECTION TO THE UPWARDLY INTRODUCED REACTION COMPONENT AT A VELOCITY TO PROVIDE A VELOCITY WITHIN THE UPPER SUB-ZONE AND REACTION ZONE OF AT LEAST FIVE TIMES THAT OF THE VELOCITY REQUIRED TO ENTRAIN SAID BED GRANULES, WHEREBY TO PRODUCE AN ENVIRONMENT OF HIGH TUBULENCE IMMEDIATELY ABOVE SAID BED AND WITHIN SAID UPPER SUB-ZONE UP INTO WHICH A PORTION OF SAID BED GRANULES IN DRAWN BY THE SUCTION RESULTING FROM THE ATTENDANT TURBULENT FLOW AND WITHIN WHICH SAID GRANULES ROTATE HELICALLY PREDOMINANTLY ALONG THE CONFINING PERIPHERAL PORTIONS OF SAID UPPER SUBZONE, FOR INTIMATE CONTACT AND HOMOGENEOUS INTERMIXING OF SAID ONE REACTION COMPONENT WITH SAID OTHER REACTION COMPONENT IN THE PRESENCE OF SAID PORTION OF GRANULES IN SAID UPPER SUB-ZONE IN SAID ENVIRONMENT OF HIGH TURBULENCE, AND RECOVERING THE RESULTANT SOLID FINELY DIVIDED OXIDE THEREBY PRODUCED.