Contacting apparatus

Claim 1

AN IMPROVED VAPOR PREHEATER AND REACTOR COMPRISING A VERTICAL VESSEL HAVING A SOLID MATERIAL INLET CONDUIT ON ITS UPPER END AND A SOLID MATERIAL OUTLET CONDUIT ON ITS LOWER END, A PARTITION ACROSS THE UPPER PORTION OF SAID VESSEL AND A LOWER PARTITION ACROSS SAID VESSEL AT AN INTERMEDIATE LEVEL ALONG ITS LENGTH, SAID PARTITION DIVIDING SAID VESSEL INTO THREE SUPERPOSED CHAMBERS, SPACED CONDUITS DEPENDING FROM EACH OF SAID PARTITIONS AND TERMINATING A SPACED DISTANCE THEREBELOW, THEREBY PROVIDING CONFINED PASSAGES FOR SOLID FLOW BETWEEN CHAMBERS AND PROVIDING A CONTINUOUS GAS SPACE BELOW EACH PARTITION AND SURROUNDING THE CONDUITS DEPENDING THEREFROM, A GAS OUTLET CONDUIT CONNECTED INTO SAID VESSEL AT A LEVEL BELOW THE UPPER PARTITION AND ABOVE THE LOWER ENDS OF THE CONDUITS DEPENDING THEREFROM, A ROW OF SPACED, HORIZONTALLY EXTENDING GAS DISTRIBUTING TROUGHS, OPEN ON BOTTOM, POSITIONED IN SAID VESSEL SHORTLY ABOVE THE LOWER PARTITION AND SUBSTANTIALLY BELOW THE LOWER ENDS OF THE CONDUITS DEPENDING FROM THE UPPER PARTITION, A PLURALITY OF TUBES EXTENDING THROUGH SAID LOWER PARTITION FROM THE GAS SPACE THEREBELOW AND TERMINATING UNDER SAID TROUGHS, A SECOND ROW OF HORIZONTALLY EXTENDING DISTRIBUTOR TROUGHS WITHIN SAID VESSEL AT A LEVEL SPACED SUBSTANTIALLY BELOW THE LOWER ENDS OF SAID CONDUITS WHICH DEPEND FROM SAID LOWER PARTITION, CONDUIT MEANS FOR SUPPLYING A FLUID OIL UNDER SAID TROUGHS, A THIRD ROW OF TROUGHS POSITIONED IN THE LOWER PORTION OF SAID VESSEL BELOW SAID LAST NAMED ROW OF TROUGHS AND SEPARATE CONDUIT MEANS FOR SUPPLYING WATER UNDER SAID TROUGHS.