PRODUCTION OF FINE PARTICLE BY USING PLASMA ARC

PURPOSE:To increase the yield per unit hour of fine metallic particles by heating and melting a metallic raw material by a plasma arc and changing the irradiation energy quantity of the plasma arc to the molten metal pool thereof. CONSTITUTION:The plasma arc is irradiated from a torch 24 to a raw material 18 in a crucible 17 to form the heated and melted metal pool 70. The gas which is made into plasma is absorbed in the part irradiated with the arc when the irradiation energy of the plasma arc is first increased. The absorbed gas is released when the above-mentioned energy is decreased. The fine particles of the raw material 18 forming the pool 70 is released toward the space in a furnace body 3 together with the gas release. The above-mentioned operation is repeated to discharge the released fine particles toward a discharge part 14 from above the pool 70 by a carrier gas. The released particles are recovered in a recovering device 15.