A method and an apparatus for producing a porous glass preform by using organosiloxane raw material is provided. The apparatus for producing the porous glass preform 12 according to the present embodiment is configured to mix organosiloxane in a liquid state being a raw material with a carrier gas in a vaporizer 6, heat this mixture to be vaporized, supply this vapor to a burner 13 as a gas raw material, and produce a porous glass preform by depositing a glass fine particle produced by combusting the gas raw material on a starting material, herein the apparatus for producing a porous glass preform includes a moisture removing apparatus 8 configured to remove moisture in the carrier gas and supply the vaporizer with the carrier gas.

A method for the production of synthetic quartz glass using a special cleaning device is provided. The method includes (a) evaporating a production material containing a polymerizable polyalkylsiloxane compound while forming a production material vapor, (b) passing the production material vapor resulting from step (a) through a cleaning device to purify the production material vapor, (c) supplying the purified production material vapor resulting from step (b) to a reaction zone in which the purified production material vapor is converted to SiO.sub.2 particles through oxidation and/or through hydrolysis, (d) depositing the SiO.sub.2 particles resulting from step (c) on a deposition surface, and optionally drying and vitrifying the deposited SiO.sub.2 particles resulting from step (d) to form synthetic quartz glass. The cleaning device includes a bulk of porous silica particles which have a BET specific surface area of at least 2 m.sup.2/g. A device for carrying out the method is also provided.

A method and an apparatus for producing a porous glass preform by using organosiloxane raw material is provided. The apparatus for producing the porous glass preform 12 according to the present embodiment is configured to mix organosiloxane in a liquid state being a raw material with a carrier gas in a vaporizer 6, heat this mixture to be vaporized, supply this vapor to a burner 13 as a gas raw material, and produce a porous glass preform by depositing a glass fine particle produced by combusting the gas raw material on a starting material, herein the apparatus for producing a porous glass preform includes a moisture removing apparatus 8 configured to remove moisture in the carrier gas and supply the vaporizer with the carrier gas.

The porous glass base material manufacturing apparatus releases gas of organic siloxane raw materials into the flame of a group of burners that moves relative to a starting base material along the longitudinal direction of the starting base material rotating around a rotation axis along the longitudinal direction to form soot of porous glass particles on the surface of the starting base material. The porous glass base material manufacturing apparatus is equipped with a vaporizer that vaporizes liquid raw materials containing organic siloxane in a liquid state supplied from a raw material tank to make a raw material mixed gas mixed with raw material gas and carrier gas and a raw material gas pipe that supplies the raw material mixed gas to the burner. The raw material gas pipe is insulated and kept warm by double insulation.

A gas branching apparatus that branches and supplies a gas to first to N-th supply targets, includes first to N-th pipes wherein the first to N-th pipes are each branched into first to N-th branch pipes on a downstream end side, and wherein the i-th branch pipes of the respective first to N-th pipes are connected in common to the i-th supply target, and the i-th branch pipes of the respective first to N-th pipes are provided with valves, respectively, where i denotes each of integers of 1 to N.

A manufacturing method of a porous glass preform for optical fiber by depositing glass microparticles on a starting member, including supplying a vaporizer with organic silicon compound raw material in a liquid state and a carrier gas; in the vaporizer, mixing and vaporizing the organic silicon compound raw material in a liquid state and the carrier gas to convert the organic silicon compound raw material and the carrier gas into a raw material mixed gas; supplying a burner with the raw material mixed gas and a combustible gas, combusting the raw material mixed gas and the combustible gas in the burner, and ejecting SiO.sub.2 microparticles generated by the combustion from the burner; and depositing the SiO.sub.2 microparticles ejected from the burner on the starting member by repeatedly moving a single body, in which the vaporizer and the burner are synchronized, parallel to the starting member in a longitudinal direction thereof.

A method for cleaning a vaporizer that vaporizes, at normal temperature and pressure, a source material in a liquid state, and supplies the vaporized source material to a reactor through a supply pipe, includes a cleaning step of passing the source material to the vaporizer while maintaining the source material in a liquid state to clean the vaporizer.

A method and an apparatus for producing a porous glass preform by using organosiloxane raw material is provided. The apparatus for producing the porous glass preform 12 according to the present embodiment is configured to mix organosiloxane in a liquid state being a raw material with a carrier gas in a vaporizer 6, heat this mixture to be vaporized, supply this vapor to a burner 13 as a gas raw material, and produce a porous glass preform by depositing a glass fine particle produced by combusting the gas raw material on a starting material, herein the apparatus for producing a porous glass preform includes a moisture removing apparatus 8 configured to remove moisture in the carrier gas and supply the vaporizer with the carrier gas.

A method for cleaning a vaporizer that vaporizes, at normal temperature and pressure, a source material in a liquid state, and supplies the vaporized source material to a reactor through a supply pipe, includes a cleaning step of passing the source material to the vaporizer while maintaining the source material in a liquid state to clean the vaporizer.

A method for the production of synthetic quartz glass using a special cleaning device is provided. The method includes (a) evaporating a production material containing a polymerizable polyalkylsiloxane compound while forming a production material vapor, (b) passing the production material vapor resulting from step (a) through a cleaning device to purify the production material vapor, (c) supplying the purified production material vapor resulting from step (b) to a reaction zone in which the purified production material vapor is converted to SiO.sub.2 particles through oxidation and/or through hydrolysis, (d) depositing the SiO.sub.2 particles resulting from step (c) on a deposition surface, and optionally drying and vitrifying the deposited SiO.sub.2 particles resulting from step (d) to form synthetic quartz glass. The cleaning device includes a bulk of porous silica particles which have a BET specific surface area of at least 2 m.sup.2/g. A device for carrying out the method is also provided.