Carbon black manufacture

Claim 1

IN THE PROCESS FOR PRODUCING CARBON BLACK BY THE DECOMPOSITION OF HYDROCARBONS IN WHICH THERE IS ESTABLISHED AND MAINTAINED WITHIN AN ELONGATED, HEAT-INSULATED REACTION CHAMBER OF CIRCULAR CROSS-SECTION, A SWIRLING STREAM OF HOT BLAST FLAME GASES PASSING LONGITUDINALLY THROUGH THE CHAMBER ALONG A HELICAL PATH AT HIGH VELOCITY, THE AXIAL CORE OF SAID GAS STREAM SWIRLING AT A RELATIVELY LOW VELOCITY AND THE GAS VELOCITY REACHING A MAXIMUM IN AN ANNULAR ZONE INTERMEDIATE SAID CORE AND THE PERIPHERY OF THE CHAMBER, AND THE HYDROCARBON TO BE DECOMPOSED IS SEPARATELY AND FORCEFULLY INJECTED RADIALLY INTO SAID HOT GAS STREAM AND IS DISPERSED THEREIN AND DECOMPOSED BY HEAT ABSORBED THEREFROM TO FORM CARBON BLACK IN SUSPENSION, THE EFFLUENT PASSING FROM TH DOWNSTREAM END OF THE CHAMBER AND THE CARBON BLACK SEPARATED AND COLLECTED, THE IMPROVEMENT COMPRISING THE STEP OF INJECTING THE HYDROCARBON TO BE DECOMPOSED INTO THE HOT GAS STREAM AS A GAS-ATOMIZED SPRAY OF LIQUID HYDROCARBON INITIATED ADJACENT THE LONGITUDINAL AXIS OF THE CHAMBER AND DIRECTED RADIALLY OUTWARDLY TOWARD THE DELINEATING SIDE WALL OF THE CHAMBER AT AN INITIALY LINEAR VELOCITY SUCH THAT THE SPRAY PENETRATES THE SWIRLING STREAM OF HOT GASES TO THE ZONE OF MAXIMUM VELOCITY OF SAID GASES.