Treatment of powdered oil furnace black

Claim 1

IN THE PROCESS FOR TREATING POWDERED OIL FURNACE CARBON BLACK WITH OZONE TO ALTER THE SURFACE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE FURNACE BLACK PARTICLES, THE METHOD FOR EFFECTING INTIMATE CONTACT BETWEEN THE FURNACE BLACK PARTICLES AND THE OZONE IN WHICH SUBSTANTIAL AGGREGATION OF THE FURNACE BLACK IS AVOIDED WHICH COMPRISES MAINTAINING WITHIN AN ELONGATED, ROTATABLY-MOUNTED, CYLINDRICAL TREATING CHAMBER A RELATIVELY QUIESCENT BODY OF THE OZONE AND A PLURALITY OF PARTITIONED BEDS OF THE POWDERED FURNACE CARBON BLACK EXTENDING LONGITUDINALLY ALONG SUBSTANTIALLY THE ENTIRE LENGTH OF SAID CYLINDRICAL TREATING CHAMBER, CONTINUOUSLY ROTATING THE TREATING CHAMBER, THEREBY CONTINUOUSLY ELEVATING THE RESPECTIVE BEDS OF POWDERED FURNACE BLACK CONSECUTIVELY AND ALLOWING THE FURNACE BLACK PARTICLES COMPOSING SAID PARTITIONED BEDS TO FALL BY GRAVITY IN A DISPERSED STATE THROUGH THE QUIESCENT BODY OF THE OZONE WITHIN THE CHAMBER, THE RATE AT WHICH THE FURNACE BLACK PARTICLES ARE ELEVATED BEING SUCH THAT NO SUBSTANTIAL STAGNANT BODY IS PREMITTED TO ACCUMULATE DURING THE TREATMENT AND NO SUBSTANTIAL TUMBLING AND CASCADING OF THE FURNACE BLACK PARTICLES OCCURS WITHIN EACH OF SAID PARTITIONED BEDS DURING SUCH ELEVATION TO THE POINT AT WHICH THE FURNACE BLACK PARTICLES FAL BY GRAVITY WHEREBY SUBSTANTIAL AGGREGATION OF THE FURNACE BLACK PARTICLES IS INHIBITED, AND CONTINUING THE OPERATION UNTIL THE DESIRED ALTERATION OF THE SURFACE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE FURNACE BLACK IS OBTAINED.