A metal chloride centrifugal reactor, comprising: a reactor housing, said reactor housing including an inside surface, an outside surface, a top portion, a bottom portion, a sidewall connecting said top portion and said bottom portion together, and an interior; a cylindrical reaction chamber positioned within said interior of said reactor housing, said reaction chamber including an inside surface, an outside surface, a top, a bottom, a cylindrical sidewall connecting said top and said bottom together and an interior, said interior of said reaction chamber having a top half and a bottom half; a reactant inlet conduit extending through said sidewall of said reactor housing and said sidewall of said reaction chamber and including an inside surface, an outside surface and an interior, said reactant inlet conduit also including a first opening for receiving reaction components comprising at least solid metal particles and chlorine from a location outside of said reactor housing and a second opening, wherein said second opening is a cyclonic inlet that tapers toward the interior of said reaction chamber and is configured for discharging said reaction components tangentially into said reaction chamber at a velocity and pressure sufficient to cause the reaction components to swirl around the inside surface of the sidewall of the reaction chamber and form a vortex in the reaction chamber, said second opening of said reactant inlet conduit being flush with said inside surface of said cylindrical sidewall of said reaction chamber and opening into said interior of said reaction chamber; and a reaction product outlet conduit extending through said top of said reaction chamber and said top of said reactor housing and including an inside surface, an outside surface and an interior, said reaction product outlet conduit also including a first opening for receiving a reaction product comprising at least a metal chloride from said interior of said reaction chamber and a second opening for discharging said reaction product to a location outside of said reactor housing. a reactor housing, said reactor housing including an inside surface, an outside surface, a top portion, a bottom portion, a sidewall connecting said top portion and said bottom portion together, and an interior; a cylindrical reaction chamber positioned within said interior of said reactor housing, said reaction chamber including an inside surface, an outside surface, a top, a bottom, a cylindrical sidewall connecting said top and said bottom together and an interior, said interior of said reaction chamber having a top half and a bottom half; a reactant inlet conduit extending through said sidewall of said reactor housing and said sidewall of said reaction chamber and including an inside surface, an outside surface and an interior, said reactant inlet conduit also including a first opening for receiving reaction components comprising at least solid metal particles and chlorine from a location outside of said reactor housing and a second opening, wherein said second opening is a cyclonic inlet that tapers toward the interior of said reaction chamber and is configured for discharging said reaction components tangentially into said reaction chamber at a velocity and pressure sufficient to cause the reaction components to swirl around the inside surface of the sidewall of the reaction chamber and form a vortex in the reaction chamber, said second opening of said reactant inlet conduit being flush with said inside surface of said cylindrical sidewall of said reaction chamber and opening into said interior of said reaction chamber; and a reaction product outlet conduit extending through said top of said reaction chamber and said top of said reactor housing and including an inside surface, an outside surface and an interior, said reaction product outlet conduit also including a first opening for receiving a reaction product comprising at least a metal chloride from said interior of said reaction chamber and a second opening for discharging said reaction product to a location outside of said reactor housing.