| Process | Carbon Arc | 1st Generation Combustion | 2nd Generation Combustion |
| Inventors | Kratchmer-Huffman/UA
 | Howard/MIT
 | Nano-C

|
| Synthesis | Individual graphite rods are vaporized with electrical currents in low pressure inert gas.

| A continuous low flow of hydrocarbon fuel is burned at low pressure in a “flat” flame.

| A continuous high-flow of hydrocarbon is burned at low pressure in a 3 dimensional chamber.

|
| Solvents used to extract fullerenes? | Yes | Yes | Generally no |
| Projected Price of Mixtures | >$10,000/kg | <$1,000/kg | <$200/kg |
| High Pressure Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) used to separate? | Yes | Yes | No |
| Projected Price of Purified C60 | >$25,000/kg | <$16,000/kg | <$200/kg |
| Capital to Scale | $$$ | $$ | $ |