Continuous process for producing detergent grade alcohols and glycerine

Claim 1

THE PROCESS OF CONVERSION OF INEDIBLE TALLOW TO A MIXTURE OF FATTY ALCOHOLS HAVING AT LEAST 10 PERCENT CONCENTRATION OF ALCOHOLS CONTAINING BETWEEN 10 TO 14 CARBON ATOMS WHICH COMPRISES MELTING THE TALLOW AND PASSING THE MOLTEN TALLOW TOGETHER WITH HYDROGEN AT A RATE OF 2.0 TO 4.0 POUNDS OF HYDROGEN PER 100 POUNDS OF TALLOW UPWARDLY THROUGH A CONTACT ZONE CONTAINING A CATALYTIC BED COMPOSED OF A SULFUR RESISTANT CATALYSTIC CONTACT AGENT SELECTED FROM THE GROUP CONSISTING OF ALUMIN AND COMBINATIONS OF SILICA AND ALUMINA AND PROMOTOED WITH ELEMENTS FROM GROUPS VI-B AND VIII OF THE PERIODIC TABLE AT TEMPERATURES BETWEEN 600 AND 850*F. AND AT A TOTAL PRESSURE WITHIN THE RANGE OF 500 TO 2000 P.S.I.G. AND WHEREIN THE HYDROGEN PARTIAL PRESSURE IS WITHIN THE RANGE 250 P.S.I. TO 1800 P.S.I., THE VELOCITY OF THE GAS AND LIQUID BEING SUCH AS TO EXPAND THE CATALYTIC BED AT LEAST 10 PERCENT OF ITS ORIGINAL VOLUME AND TO CREATE AND MAINTAIN AN INTERFACE BELOW WHICH THE CATALYST DENSITY ISGREATER THAN 5 POUNDS PER CUBIC FOOT AND ABOVE WHICH THE CATALYST DENSITY IS LESS THAN 0.1 POUND PER CUBIC BOOT WITHOUT EMPLOYING DISENGAGING DEVICES AND REPLACING THE PARTICULATE CONTACT AGENT IN THE BED AT A RATE BETWEEN 0.001 AND 1.0 POUND OF CATALYST PER 100 POUNDS OF FEED AND DRAWING OFF THE LIQUID PRODUCT FROM ABOVE THE INTERFACE.