Method for photochemically decomposing organic materials

Claim 1

An improved method of recycling solid and liquid waste compound primarily or organic materials into useful, recoverable substances, predominantly hydrogen gas and solid carbon in a diffused powder form, by essentially completely decomposing the organic materials to their elemental components in a reactor having a substantially closed internal reaction chamber with interior walls being made of materials that possess low thermal mass, that limit the passage of heat, and that may function as almost perfect black bodies at high temperatures, and with the internal chamber having controlled-access first and second openings, the improved method comprising the steps of: supplying sufficient energy to the interior of the reaction chamber so that the reaction chamber is at a sufficiently high energy level, as indicated by temperature in the range of about 1100°-1500° C., to cause the interior walls of the reaction chamber to emit black-body radiation; generating an intense radiation field in the reaction chamber, composed primarily of infrared radiation, as a result of radiative emissions from the interior walls of the reaction chamber and from resistive heating elements; introducing the organic waste materials to be decomposed through the first opening into the reaction chamber of the reactor to expose the organic waste materials to the intense radiation field present long enough so that the organic waste material decompose primarily solely be absorbing sufficient energy from the intense radiation field into their elemental constituents, including solid carbon and hydrogen gas; withdrawing the diffused carbon powder and gases, including hydrogen gas, from the reaction chamber of the reactor through the second opening of the reactor; mixing air with the diffused solid carbon and gases as they are withdrawn from the reactor so as to cool them; and collecting the carbon powder.