Preheater

Claim 1

IN A PROCESS FOR MANUFACTURING CARBON BLACK BY CRACKING GASEOUS AND VAPORIZED HYDROCARBON STOCK, THE STEPS OF PREHEATING SAID HYDROCARBON STOCK TO A TEMPERATURE AT LEAST AS HIGH AS THE BREAKDOWN TEMPERATURE THEREOF, SEPARATELY PREHEATING OXYGEN-CONTAINING GASEOUS MEDIUM TO A TEMPERATURE OF APPROXIMATELY 1600*C., CONDUCTING A FIRST PORTION OF SAID PREHEATED HYDROCARBON STOCK INTO A COMBUSTION ZONE TOGETHER WITH AN AMOUNT OF SAID PREHEATED GASEOUS MEDIUM SUFFICIENT TO PROVIDE A SUBSTANTIAL EXCESS OF OXYGEN IN SAID ZONE BEYOND THE THEORETICALLY REQUIRED AMOUNT FOR COMPLETE COMBUSTION OF SAID FIRST PORTION OF THE HYDROCARBON STOCK, MAINTAINING A PRESSURE OF 3 TO 5 ATMOSPHERES IN SAID COMBUSTION ZONE, CONDUCTING THE GASEOUS PRODUCTS OF COMBUSTION FROM SAID COMBUSTION ZONE AND THE REMAINING PORTION OF THE PREHEATED HYDROCARBON STOCK INTO A REACTION ZONE FOR ENDOTHERMIC REACTION WITH EACH OTHER IN SAID REACTION ZONE FOR A PERIOD BETWEEN APPROXIMATELY 0.08 AND 0.6 SECOND, AND CONTROLLING THE TEMPERATURE OF SAID ENDOTHERMIC REACTION TO PROVIDE A TEMPERATURE IN SAID REACTION ZONE BETWEEN APPROXIMATELY 1000*C. AND 1500*C. AT THE END OF SAID PERIOD.