Importance

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Abstract

The present invention relates to purge vessel apparatuses and methods for processing particulate material composed of powder particles. Some such purge vessel apparatuses include a housing having first and second opposite ends and an inner surface defining a material path from the first end to the second end. Some such purge vessel apparatuses also include a gas exposure mechanism that is adapted to expose particulate material on the material path to a processing gas. Some such purge vessel apparatuses further include an agitating mechanism adapted to disrupt and/or inhibit formation of gas channels and/or to disrupt and/or inhibit formation of material flow channels by agitating particulate material on the material path, thereby exposing substantially all of the powder particles to the processing gas, while substantially maintaining mass flow. Several illustrative purge vessel apparatuses and method are disclosed for processing particulate material composed of powder particles.

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First Claim