Method for producing carbon black

Claim 1

A method of producing carbon black comprising: introducing a combustible fuel into a combustion zone which is defined by refractory; introducing an oxygen-containing gas into said combustion zone in a quantity greater than stoichiometric oxygen required for combustion of the combustible fuel; combusting said fuel and said oxygen-containing gas in said combustion zone to therby produce hot combustion gases; introducing a quench fluid into said combustion zone, at a position downstream of the position of the introduction of said combustible fuel into said combustion zone, in a quantity sufficient and in a manner to prevent said hot combustion gases from heating said refractory to a refractory damaging temperature, said quench fluid including at least a portion of smoke produced by a carbon black producing process and containing combustible material to form additional hot combustion gases; combusting said combustible materials utilizing substantially the remainder of the oxygen in the oxygen-containing gas whereby the hot combustion gases and quench fluid are substantially free of free oxygen; introducing the thus produced hot combustion gases and quench fluid into a reaction zone in a generally tangential manner with respect to the reaction zone; contacting in the reaction zone a make hydrocarbon and the thus introduced hot combustion gases and quench fluid, thereby heating the make hydrocarbon to a temeperature sufficiently high to decompose the make hydrocarbon to carbon black, thereby forming smoke containing carbon black; and separating the thus produced smoke into carbon black and off gas.

Claim 2

A method of producing carbon black comprising: introducing a combustible fuel into a combustion zone which is defined by refractory; introducing an oxygen-containing gas into said combustion zone in a quantity greater than stoichiometric oxygen required for combustion of the combustible fuel; combusting said fuel and said oxygen-containing gas in said combustion zone to therby produce hot combustion gases; introducing a quench fluid into said combustion zone, at a position downstream of the position of the introduction of said combustible fuel into said combustion zone, in a quantity sufficient and in a manner to prevent said hot combustion gases from heating said refractory to a refractory damaging temperature, said quench fluid including at least a portion of smoke produced by a carbon black producing process and containing combustible material to form additional hot combustion gases; combusting said combustible materials utilizing substantially the remainder of the oxygen in the oxygen-containing gas whereby the hot combustion gases and quench fluid are substantially free of free oxygen; introducing the thus produced hot combustion gases and quench fluid into a reaction zone in a generally tangential manner with respect to the reaction zone; contacting in the reaction zone a make hydrocarbon and the thus introduced hot combustion gases and quench fluid, thereby heating the make hydrocarbon to a temeperature sufficiently high to decompose the make hydrocarbon to carbon black, thereby forming smoke containing carbon black; and separating the thus produced smoke into carbon black and off gas.