Production of agglomerates from gas phase
View Patent ↗A process for production of an agglomerate comprises the steps of: passing a flow of one or more gaseous reactants into a reactor; reacting the one or more gaseous reactants within a reaction zone of the reactor to form product particles; agglomerating the product particles into an agglomerate; and applying a force to the agglomerate to displace it continuously away from the reaction zone.
1. A process for production of a fibre, comprising the steps of:
passing a flow of one or more gaseous reactants into a reactor;
reacting the one or more gaseous reactants within a reaction zone of the reactor to form product particles;
collecting the product particles using a collector to form a web; and
applying a force to the web to displace it continuously away from the reaction zone whilst forming it into a fibre.
2. A process as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the force applied to the web is a mechanical force.
3. A process as claimed in claim 2 , wherein the web is formed into a fibre and the mechanical force applied to the web is applied by means of a rotating spindle on which the fibre is wound.
4. A process as claimed in claim 2 , wherein the mechanical force applied to the web is applied by an accelerating gas flow.
5. A process as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the force applied to the web is an electrostatic force.
6. A process as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the force applied to the web is a magnetic force.
7. A process as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the product particles are fibrillar.
8. A process as claimed in claim 7 , wherein the fibrillar product particles are nanodimensional.
9. A process as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the one or more gaseous reagents are reacted at a temperature of 500 to 1600° C.
10. A process as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the one or more gaseous reagents are mixed with a diluent gas.
11. A process as claimed in claim 1 , further comprising the step of contacting the fibre with a treatment fluid.
12. A process as claimed in claim 1 , further comprising the step of annealing the fibre with one or more fibres by heating.
13. A process as claimed in claim 1 , further comprising the step of spinning the fibre with one or more other fibres.
14. A process as claimed in claim 1 , further comprising the step of respinning or drawing a fibre from the web.
15. A process as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the product particles comprise carbon or boron nitride.
16. A process as claimed in claim 15 , wherein the product particles comprise carbon nanotubes or carbon nanofibres.
17. A process as claimed in claim 15 , wherein the gaseous reactant is a carbon source and the carbon source is reacted in the presence of a catalyst.
18. A process as claimed in claim 17 , wherein the carbon source is reacted in the presence of a promoter.