Described herein are processes and apparatus for the large-scale synthesis of boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs) by induction-coupled plasma (ICP). A boron-containing feedstock may be heated by ICP in the presence of nitrogen gas at an elevated pressure, to form vaporized boron. The vaporized boron may be cooled to form boron droplets, such as nanodroplets. Cooling may take place using a condenser, for example. BNNTs may then form downstream and can be harvested.

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.

A rotating heat regenerator is used to recover heat from the syngas at it exits the reactor vessel of a waste or biomass gasifier. In some embodiments, three or more streams are passed through the heat exchanger. One stream is the dirty syngas, which heats the rotating material. A second stream is a cold stream that is heated as it passes through the material. A third stream is a cleaning stream, which serves to remove particulates that are collected on the rotating material as the dirty syngas passes through it. This apparatus can also be used as an auto-heat exchanger, or it can exchange heat between separate flows in the gasifier process. The apparatus can also be used to reduce the heating requirement for the thermal residence chamber (TRC) used downstream from the gasification system.

A torch stinger apparatus may comprise one or more sets of plasma generating electrodes and at least one hydrocarbon injector contained within the electrodes. The electrodes may be concentric. The at least one hydrocarbon injector may be cooled. A method of making carbon particles using the apparatus is also described.

A method of cooling a liner in a plasma chamber. A recycle gas is contacted with or passed through the liner to cool the liner and pre-heat the recycle gas. The pre-heated gas is then recycled through the plasma chamber to become part of the plasma forming process. The method further comprises the liner is graphite, the recycle gas passes through at least one cooling channel present in the liner, at least one of the cooling channels are covered with at least one removable liner/channel cover, carbon deposits are formed from the presence of hydrocarbons in the recycle gas, at least one channel is formed in a spiral cooling channel pattern, at least one channel is formed in a substantially straight cooling channel pattern, and a plenum to aid in the production of an even distribution of cooling gas in the channels.

A torch stinger apparatus may comprise one or more sets of plasma generating electrodes and at least one hydrocarbon injector contained within the electrodes. The electrodes may be concentric. The at least one hydrocarbon injector may be cooled. A method of making carbon particles using the apparatus is also described.

An apparatus for generating a flow of reactive gas for decontaminating a material, surface or area, comprises a first electrode member comprising a first plurality of conductive surfaces and a second electrode member comprising a second plurality of conductive surfaces. The second electrode member is arranged in spaced relationship with the first electrode member to define a reactor channel. The conductive surfaces are exposed to the reactor channel so as to form air gaps between the first plurality of conductive surfaces and the second plurality of conductive surfaces. An air blower generates a flow of air through the reactor channel. An electric pulse generator repetitively generates voltage pulses between the first and second electrode members so as to produce glow discharges in the air gaps between the conductive surfaces of the first plurality and the conductive surfaces of the second plurality, the voltage pulses being generated at time intervals less than 1 millisecond and voltage pulse duration less than about 500 ns, the glow discharges being adapted to transform part of the flow of air into reactive gas. An output section delivers the reactive gas from the reactor channel to a sample or region to be decontaminated or treated.

To provide an apparatus and a method of producing fine particles capable of increasing evaporation efficiency of a material, increasing the production of fine particles and reducing costs by heating the inputted material by a gas heated by thermal plasma. A fine particle production apparatus includes a vacuum chamber, a material feeding device connected to the vacuum chamber and feeding material particles from a material feeding port into the vacuum chamber, electrodes arranged in the vacuum chamber for generating plasma and a collection device connected to the vacuum chamber and collecting fine particles, which produces the fine particles from the material by generating electric discharge inside the vacuum chamber, in which the collection device and the material feeding device are connected by piping, and a material heating and circulation device which heats the material by heat of a gas inside the chamber heated by the plasma through the piping is provided.

Systems and methods for a nitric oxide (NO) generation system are provided. In particular, the present disclosure provide an NO generation system that is configured to be cooled to maintain an NO generator of the system at or below temperatures safe for patient use and contact. In some non-limiting examples, the NO generation system may include a pump configured to furnish a fluid (e.g., a gas) toward and/or through the NO generator to provide cooling thereto.

Provided are a method and apparatus capable of producing fine particles with favorable particle size distribution. In a production method in which feedstock for fine particle production is supplied intermittently into a modulated induction thermal plasma flame, the feedstock is vaporized to form a gas phase mixture, and the mixture is cooled to produce the fine particles: a modulated induction thermal plasma flame in which the temperature state is time-modulated is generated; the modulated induction thermal plasma flame is switched between a high temperature state and a low temperature state; and when the modulated induction thermal plasma flame is in the high temperature state, the feedstock is supplied together with a carrier gas, and when the modulated induction thermal plasma flame is in the low temperature state, supply of the feedstock is suspended and a gas of the same type as the carrier gas is supplied.