Carbon black process and apparatus

Claim 1

IN THE PROCESS FOR PRODUCING CARBON BLACK BY THE THERMAL DECOMPOSITION OF HYDROCARBONS WHEREIN THE HYDROCARBON IS SEPARATELY INJECTED INTO AND IS RAPIDLY AND UNIFORMLY MIXED WITH A TURBULENT STREAM OF HOT FLAME GASES PASSING THROUGH AN ELONGATED REACTION CHAMBER AND DECOMPOSED BY HEAT ABSORBED FROM THE HOT GASES TO FORM CARBON BLACK IN SUSPENSION, THE RESULTANT SUSPENSION BEING WITHDRAWN FROM THE DOWNSTREAM END OF THE REACTION CHAMBER, COOLED AND THE CARBON BLACK COLLECTED, THE STEPS COMPRISING SUPPLYING THE HOT BLAST FLAME GASES TO THE REACTION CHAMBER AS FROM WITHOUT THE CHAMBER AS A PLURALITY TO SEPARATE HIGH VELOCITY STREAMS, THE LONGITUDINAL AXIS OF EACH STREAM LYING IN THE PLANE OF THE LONGITUDINAL AXIS OF THE CHAMBER AND SAID STREAMS CONVERGING TOWARD EACH OTHER AND TOWARD THE LONGITUDINAL AXIS OF THE CHAMBER IN A GENERALLY DOWNSTREAM DIRECTION, THE ANGLE OF CONVERGENCE OF SAID SEPARATE STREAMS TOWARD EACH OTHER BEING WITHIN THE RANGE OF 60* TO 120*, AND THEREBY