Acetylene from coal and an electric arc

Claim 1

A process for producing acetylene from coal and methane-rich gas comprising the steps of: (a) heating said coal and said methane-rich gas to a peak temperature over 6000° F. in an electric-arc to form a plasma; (b) cooling the plasma of step (a) to less than 6000 F.; (c) maintaining the temperature of the cooled plasma at a temperature within the range of 5000 to 6000 F. for approximately 60 milliseconds to form a substantially equilibrated mixture of chemical compounds including said acetylene; and (d) quickly quenching the compounds following step (c) to a substantially lower temperature in less than 30 milliseconds whereby the chemical activity between the formed compounds is substantially stopped and the chemical composition of the quenched mixture is maintained substantially unchanged.