The nanoparticle production process in a transferred arc plasma system was studied. The plasma temperature, particle heating time, and particle residence time in plasma were calculated using heat and mass balance with a lumped capacitance method. We analyzed the nanoparticle production characteristics based on different operating conditions by comparing the particle vaporization time with the particle residence time in the plasma. The limit size for particle vaporization was derived. With higher plasma power, the nanoparticle production rate increased and the energy consumption rate decreased. It was confirmed that the energy consumption rate reaches an optimal point according to the plasma power. Experiments to determine the nanoparticle production rate according to plasma power were also conducted and the experimental data were compared with numerical values. The results show that the error rate between the numerical values and experimental data was approximately +/- 18%. Therefore, the developed model which was studied could be useful for designing nanoparticle production process using a transferred arc plasma system because of its simple approach. (C) 2018 The Society of Powder Technology Japan. Published by Elsevier B.V. and The Society of Powder Technology Japan. All rights reserved.