Flame Based Fluidized Bed Reactor for Nanomaterials Production
AssigneeAdvanced Energy Materials, LLC
InventorsMahendra Sunkara, Tu Quang Nguyen, Lukus Guhy, William Paxton
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Abstract
The present development is a reactor system for the production of nanostructures. The reactor system comprises a conical reactor body designed to maintain an upwardly directed vertical plasma flame and hydrocarbon flame. The reactor system further includes a metal powder feed that feeds into the plasma flame, a cyclone and a dust removal unit. The system is designed to produce up to 100 grams of metal oxide nanomaterials per minute.
Claims20
In a reactor system for producing nanostructures wherein the reactor system comprises a reaction chamber having a flame source, and a powder feeder to disperse a material for producing nanostructures into the flame, and a means to receive and separate the produced nanostructures and unreacted dispersed material and to isolate the produced nanostructures, the improvement comprising:
- providing a reaction chamber that defines a bottom and a top and that has a flame source located at the bottom and wherein the top is adapted to allow materials from the reaction chamber to be transferred to the separation means, and wherein the reaction chamber is oriented such that a flame source produced by the flame source projects upwardly into the reaction chamber.
In a reactor system for producing nanostructures wherein the reactor system comprises a reaction chamber having a flame source, and a powder feeder to disperse a material for producing nanostructures into the flame, and a mechanical separator to receive and separate the produced nanostructures and unreacted dispersed material and to isolate unreacted dispersed material in a container that is in communication with the separator, the improvement comprising:
- providing a reaction chamber has a cone-shaped configuration with a narrow end of the cone formed adjacent to the flame source and a wide end of the cone closed with a cap adapted to allow materials from the reaction chamber to be transferred to the separator, and wherein the reaction chamber is oriented such that a flame source produced by the flame source projects upwardly into the reaction chamber.
A process to produce nanomaterials comprising the steps of (1) providing a reactor system having a reactor body adapted with inlet ports and fitted with a flame source that will produce a vertical upward-directed flame and a powder feed, and a cyclone separator fitted with a material rework container, and a dust collector fitted with a product collection container;
- (2) delivering a flame in the body of the reactor body;
- (3) feeding metal powder into the reactor body, through at least one inlet port and concurrently pumping air into the reactor body through at least one inlet port so that the metal powder and air are carried into the flame;
- (4) allowing the metal powder to remain in the flame for a residence time of from about 0.1 seconds to about 5 seconds to produce nanomaterials;
- (5) forcing the nanomaterials and unreacted metal powder and metal byproducts into the cyclone separator;
- (6) removing the unreacted metal powder and heavy metal byproducts from the nanomaterials and unreacted metal powder dust and light metal byproducts using cyclonic separation and collecting the removed metal powder and heavy metal byproducts in a material rework container;
- (7) forcing the nanomaterials and unreacted light metal powder and metal byproducts into the dust separator;
- (8) removing the unreacted metal powder dust and light metal byproducts from the nanomaterials and collecting the nanomaterials in a product collection container.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.