Furnace carbon black process and apparatus

Claim 1

A PROCESS FOR PRODUCING CARBON BLACK COMPRISING INTRODUCING A VAPOROUS HYDROCARBON INTO AN INLET END OF A FIRST GENERALLY CYLINDRICAL ZONE ALONG THE AXIS THEREOF, ESTABLISHING A MASS OF HOT COMBUSTION GASES SURROUNDING SAID VAPOROUS HYDROCARBON IN SAID FIRST ZONE BY CONTINUOUSLY INJECTING TANGENTIALLY THEREINTO A FREE OXYGEN CONTAINING GAS, CONTINUOUSLY PASSING SAID VAPOROUS HYDROCARBON SURROUNDED BY SAID HOT COMBUSTION GASES FROM SAID FIRST ZONE THROUGH A SECOND CHOKE ZONE AXIALLY INTO A THIRD GENERALLY CYLINDRICAL ZONE OF SUBSTANTIALLY THE SAME DIAMETER AS SAID FIRST ZONE, SAID CHOKE ZONE BEING SPACED FROM 2.5 TO 3.5 TIMES THE DIAMETER OF SAID FIRST ZONE FROM THE INLET END OF THE FURNACE; BUT WITH THE SUM OF THE LENGTHS OF THE FIRST AND SECOND ZONES BEING LESS THAN HALF THE SUM OF THE LENGTHS OF ALL THREE ZONES, THE INTERIOR OF SAID COKE ZONE BEING FROM 1/2 TO 3/4 THE DIAMETER OF SAID FIRST ZONE, AND THE LENGTH OF SAID CHOKE ZONE BEING FROM 1/2 ITS DIAMETER TO TWICE ITS DIAMETER, SAID FIRST AND THIRD ZONES BEING IN COMMUNICATION THROUGH SAID CHOKE ZONE AND IN SUBSTANTIAL AXIAL ALIGNMENT THEREWITH, FORMING CARBON BLACK FROM SAID VAPOROUS HYDROCARBON BY PRO-CHEMICAL ACTION DUE TO THE HEAT OF THE SURROUNDING HOT COMBUSTION GASES WITHOUT THE FURTHER ADDITION OF ANY SUBSTANTIAL AMOUNT OF AIR, REMOVING THE RESULTING CARBON BLACK AND GASES FROM THE END OF SAID THIRD ZONE, AND SEPARATING THE CARBON BLACK FROM THE RESULTING GASEOUS PRODUCTS OF SAID PROCESS.