Patent ID: 7914750

Claim:
A process for the continuous production of silica in a rotatable tube reactor comprising: providing a rotatable rotary tube reactor, said rotatable rotary tube reactor having a first end, a second opposite end, and a wall extending at least partially between said first and second ends, said first and second ends and said wall defining an interior reaction region, said rotary tube reactor including a silica feed end located at or proximate said first end and a process gas feed end located at or proximate said second end, said rotary tube reactor including a plurality of reactor plates positioned and secured within an interior of said rotary tube reactor, at least two of said plates designed to enable said silica feed to pass between an outer edge of said at least two plates and an interior surface of said rotary tube, wherein at least one of said reactor plates includes a plurality of outwardly extending fins; providing a source of silica feed in communication with said first end of said rotary tube reactor; providing a source of at least one process gas in communication with said second end of said rotary tube reactor; inserting said silica feed into said silica feed end of said rotary tube reactor; inserting at least one process gas into said second end of said rotary tube reactor; causing said silica feed to move into said interior reaction region of said rotary tube reactor whereby said silica feed and said at least one process gas are retained within said interior reaction region of said rotary tube reactor for a sufficient time so that at least a portion of impurities in said silica feed react with said at least one process gas and are removed from said silica feed.