TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - INORGANIC CHEMISTRY - Production: (claimed) A liquid and a gaseous carbon black (CB) raw material are injected at the same point in the production of furnace black (I), which is carried out in a CB reactor with a combustion zone, a reaction zone and a quenching zone along its axis. The process involves producing a stream of waste gas (II) by complete combustion of a fuel in a gas containing oxygen in the combustion zone and passing (II) through the reaction zone into the quenching zone; adding a CB raw material to hot (II) in the reaction zone; and stopping CB formation by spraying water into the quenching zone. EXAMPLE - The reactor (1) had a combustion chamber (2) (maximum diameter 696 mm, length 630 mm), into which oil and gas were injected through an axial lance with suitable spray nozzles. The lance (3) could be moved in the axial direction to optimize carbon black (CB) formation. The chamber had a narrow section (4) (diameter 140 mm, length 230 mm), through which the reaction gas mixture expanded into the reaction chamber (5) (diameter 802 mm). There was no sharp separation between the combustion, reaction and quenching zones (6). Their axial extent depended on the position of the lance and quenching water lance. Measured from the start of the narrow section, the oil lance was at +160 mm and the quenching water lance at 2060 mm. The reactor used 1500 Nm3/hour air at 550 degrees C for combustion and a total of 156 Nm3/hour natural gas. The total k factor was 0.70. 670 kg/hour carbon black oil were injection axially at position +16, using 100 kg/hour atomizing steam. 5.0 l/h potassium carbonate solution (3. g/l) were added axially. The exit temperature was 549 degrees C and quench position at 9/8810 mm. The product (IA) had a H content of 4580 +/- 300 ppm; and INS peak integrals of (A) 107 +/- 1 at 750-1000 cm-1 (out of plane C-H deformation oscillation), (B) 99 +/- 1 at 1000-1250 cm-1 (in plane) and (C) 241 +/- 3 at 1250-2000 cm-1 (unconjugated constituents), giving a ratio of unconjugated to aromatic and graphitized H atoms, C/(A+B), of 1.17. The specific surface area was 30 m2/g as determined by both cetylammonium bromide (CTAB) adsorption and the BET method. 20.1 g (IA) (0.5 wt.% moisture) were suspended in 2000 ml deionized water. After heating to 90 degrees C and adding sodium hydrogen carbonate to pH 9, 5 g platinum (Pt) were added in the form of hexachloroplatinic(IV) acid solution (25 wt.% Pt). The suspension was readjusted to pH 9, then reduced with 6.8 ml 37 wt.% formaldehyde solution. After filtration, the product was washed with 2000 ml deionized water and dried in vacuo (16 hours at 80 degrees C), giving an electrocatalyst (A) containing 20 wt.% Pt. A control (B) was prepared in the same way from 20.0 g (dry mass) of Vulcan XC-72 R (RTM; furnace black with H content of 2030 +/- 200 ppm and C/(A+B) ratio of 1.33). Each cathode catalyst was made into a membrane electrode assembly and tested in hydrogen/air and hydrogen/oxygen fuel cells. The cell output at 400 mA/cm2 was (A) 687, (B) 630 mV with oxygen and (A) 606, (B) 518 mV with air; and at 500 mA/cm2 (A) 649, (B) 576 mV with oxygen and (A) 545, (B) 429 mV with air.