Treatment of fluorocarbon feedstocks
AssigneesThe South African Nuclear Energy Corporation Limited, 3M Innovative Properties Company
InventorIzak Jacobus Van Der Walt
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Abstract
A method of treating a fluorocarbon feedstock includes generating, in a high temperature zone, an electrical arc between at least one cathode and at least one anode, generating in the high temperature zone and by means of the electrical arc and a plasma gas, an upwardly burning thermal plasma having a tail flame, allowing a solid particulate fluorocarbon feedstock comprising at least on fluorocarbon compound to form a reactive thermal mixture with the thermal plasma tail flame, with the fluorocarbon compound dissociating into at least one fluorocarbon precursor or reactive species, and cooling the reactive thermal mixture to form, from the fluorocarbon precursor of reactive species, at least one more desirable fluorocarbon compound.
Claims27
A method of treating a fluorocarbon feedstock, which method includes
- generating, in a high temperature zone, an electrical arc between at least one cathode and at least one anode;
- generating in the high temperature zone and by means of the electrical arc and a plasma gas, an upwardly burning thermal plasma having a tail flame;
- allowing a solid particulate fluorocarbon feedstock comprising at least one fluorocarbon compound to form a reactive thermal mixture with the thermal plasma tail flame, with the fluorocarbon compound dissociating into at least one fluorocarbon precursor or reactive species;
- and
- cooling the reactive thermal mixture to form, from the fluorocarbon precursor or reactive species, at least one more desirable fluorocarbon compound.
An installation for treating a fluorocarbon feedstock, which installation comprises
- a reactor having an upwardly outwardly flaring reaction chamber;
- plasma generating means at the bottom of the reaction chamber;
- and
- quench means in the reaction chamber above the plasma generating means for quenching or cooling a reactive thermal mixture which, in use, forms in the reaction chamber.
A quench probe which comprises
- an outer cylindrical component providing a central passageway and adapted to cool a hot gas passing through the passageway;
- a plurality of circumferentially spaced elongate teeth or scrapers protruding inwardly from the outer component into the passageway;
- an inner cylindrical component located with clearance inside the outer component, with the inner component adapted to cool the hot gas passing along the peripheral gap between the components;
- a plurality of circumferentially spaced elongate teeth or scrapers protruding outwardly from the inner component into the passageway, with these teeth or scrapers being staggered with respect to the teeth or scrapers on the outer component;
- and
- drive means for driving the one component to oscillate relative to the other component.
A novel method of treating a fluorocarbon feedstock, substantially as described and exemplified herein.
A novel installation for treating a fluorocarbon feedstock, substantially as described and illustrated herein.
A novel quench probe, substantially as described and illustrated herein.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.