Magnetic field particle confinement in rotary tube furnace
Disclosed herein is a rotary tube furnace configured to facilitate a chemical reaction between a solid mass and a gas in the furnace. The rotary tube furnace may comprise a reaction chamber extending through the furnace, the reaction chamber configured to control ingress and egress of each of the solid mass and the gas in the reaction chamber; a passage way configured to supply the solid mass to the reaction chamber; a passage way configured to supply the gas to the reaction chamber and circulate the gas through the reaction chamber; a heater providing heat to the reaction chamber and configured to control a reaction temperature in the reaction chamber; a magnetic field source in proximity to the reaction chamber for generating a magnetic field to one or more reaction zones of the reaction chamber; wherein the reaction chamber provides for mixing the solid mass and the gas.
1 . A rotary tube furnace configured to facilitate a chemical reaction between a solid mass and a gas in the furnace, comprising:
a reaction chamber extending through the furnace, the reaction chamber configured to control ingress and egress of each of the solid mass and the gas in the reaction chamber;
a passage way configured to supply the solid mass to the reaction chamber;
a passage way configured to supply the gas to the reaction chamber and circulate the gas through the reaction chamber;
a heater providing heat to the reaction chamber and configured to control a reaction temperature in the reaction chamber;
a magnetic field source in proximity to the reaction chamber for generating a magnetic field to one or more reaction zones of the reaction chamber;
wherein the reaction chamber provides for mixing the solid mass and the gas;
wherein the solid mass has a particulate form comprising iron-nitride particles having a non-magnetic shell 0.1 to 2.0 nm thick surrounding a magnetic core of the iron- nitride particles.
2 . The rotary tube furnace according to claim 1 , wherein the magnetic field source is adjustably located to define the one or more reaction zones between the solid mass and the gas within the reaction chamber.
3 . The rotary tube furnace according to claim 1 , wherein the reaction chamber is a cylindrical tube configured to rotate around a longitudinal axis of the reaction chamber during the reaction.
4 . The rotary tube furnace according to claim 3 , further comprising:
one or more lifting members on an inner periphery of the reaction chamber configured to lift the solid mass during rotation of the reaction chamber.
5 . The rotary tube furnace according to claim 4 , wherein the lifting members are configured to sweep the solid mass towards the magnetic field source from a bottom of the reaction zone.
6 . The rotary tube furnace according to claim 4 , wherein a plurality of lifting members are equally spaced apart on the inner periphery of the reaction chamber.
7 . The rotary tube furnace according to claim 1 , wherein the passageway is configured to supply the solid mass to the reaction chamber includes a conveyor system capable of transporting the iron-nitride particles into and out of the reaction chamber.