Patent ID: 7438786

Claim:
A process for repetitively producing and removing coke from a delayed coker vessel, wherein the coker vessel has a bottom portion defining an aperture through which coke is released, said process comprising: (a) sealing an aperture closure housing to the bottom portion of the coker vessel; (b) moving a closure member within the closure housing to close the aperture; (c) feeding a heavy hydrocarbon feed into the coker vessel through a feed line attached to the coker vessel at a side entry position above the bottom of the coker vessel; (d) coking the heavy hydrocarbon in the coker vessel; (e) moving the closure member within the closure housing to open the aperture to allow coke removal from the coker vessel; (f) releasing coke through the aperture; and (g) repeating steps (b) through (f) successively wherein step (a) further comprises sealing a funnel to the coker vessel bottom and attaching the feed line to the funnel at a side entry position.