Abstract: A thermal cracking apparatus and method includes a body having an inner volume with a longitudinal axis, where a reaction zone surrounds the longitudinal axis. A feedstock process gas is flowed into the inner volume and longitudinally through the reaction zone during thermal cracking operations. A power control system controls electrical power to an elongated heating element, which is disposed within the inner volume. During thermal cracking operations, the elongated heating element is heated to a molecular cracking temperature to generate the reaction zone, the feedstock process gas is heated from the elongated heating element, the power control system uses a feedback parameter for adjusting the electrical power to maintain the molecular cracking temperature at a substantially constant value, and the heat thermally cracks molecules of the feedstock process gas that are within the reaction zone into constituent components of the molecules.

Abstract: A process gas (such as a hydrocarbon gas) is flowed through a thermal cracking apparatus to crack the process gas into constituent components (such as hydrogen gas and solid carbon nano-particles, e.g., carbon nano-onions, necked carbon nano-onions, carbon nanospheres, graphene, graphite, highly ordered pyrolytic graphite, single walled nanotubes, and/or multi-walled nanotubes). The thermal cracking apparatus has an elongated heating element disposed within an inner volume along a longitudinal axis thereof. The elongated heating element heats the process gas as it flows within a longitudinal elongated reaction zone to thermally crack molecules of the process gas into the constituent components of the molecules.

Abstract: A process gas (such as a hydrocarbon gas) is flowed through a thermal cracking apparatus to crack the process gas into constituent components (such as hydrogen gas and solid carbon nano-particles, e.g., carbon nano-onions, necked carbon nano-onions, carbon nanospheres, graphene, graphite, highly ordered pyrolytic graphite, single walled nanotubes, and/or multi-walled nanotubes). The thermal cracking apparatus has an elongated heating element disposed within an inner volume along a longitudinal axis thereof. The elongated heating element heats the process gas as it flows within a longitudinal elongated reaction zone to thermally crack molecules of the process gas into the constituent components of the molecules.