Patent ID: 8778823

Claim:
A method of operating a continuous regeneration system for a reforming process, wherein a regeneration section includes a burn zone, a halogenation zone, and a drying zone in serial progression, comprising: (a) transfer of catalyst particles containing a platinum group metal and having coke deposited thereon to the burn zone and contacting the catalyst particles with hydrocarbon gases to combust coke from the particles; (b) continuously circulating the gas from a flue gas outlet to a recycle gas inlet in a recycle gas loop, venting a vent gas comprising combustion products from said recycle loop, and adding a combustion gas comprising hydrocarbon gases to the recycle gas loop in substantially equal mass flow to amount of vent gas leaving the recycle loop; (c) passing catalyst particles from the burn zone to halogenation zone and contacting said catalyst particles with a halogen-containing gas in said halogenation zone and redispersing the platinum group metal on said catalyst; (d) continuously circulating the halogen-containing gas from a halogenation gas outlet to a halogenation gas inlet in a halogenation loop and adding a halogen to said halogenation gas loop in an amount determined to maintain a halogen concentration in the halogenation loop; (e) passing catalyst particles from the halogenation zone to a drying zone and contacting the catalyst particles with drying gas in the drying zone; (f) passing said oxygen-containing-containing drying gas to a lower portion of said drying zone; (g) passing at least a portion of said oxygen-containing drying gas upwardly from said drying zone through said halogenation zone in admixture with said halogenation gas to provide, in part, combustion gas for the burn zone; and (h) passing at least a portion of the halogenation gas into the burn zone to provide, in part, combustion gas for the burn zone.