Cavitation Reactors

The starting point in all these models is the calculation of the time-dependent pressure field using the following three-dimensional homogeneous wave equation (Junger and Feit, 1986)  

In another (somewhat different) approach, a probability density function (PDF) has been proposed (Moholkar and Pandit, 1997). This is used to map the cavity dynamics in the reaction medium covering all three phases of a cavity s lifetime growth, oscillation, and collapse. An ultrasonic reactor is considered highly efficient if the PDF shows peaks in the collapse regime at all of the locations in the cavitation field. This is an indication that pressure pulses exist throughout the medium and are not restricted to just a few locations. In other words, the cavitational intensity is uniformly distributed. If peaks occur in the growth and collapse regimes, it is desirable to place the reactor inside the sonicated medium at a location where the maximum probability of collapse is indicated. 

Rate enhancements obtained by sonication, as described previously, are all based on cavitation. If cavitation can be induced by an alternative method without the complexities of sonication, reactor scale-up can become more facile. A method that is becoming increasingly attractive is hydrodynamic cavitation. 

A striking example is the hydrolysis of fatty oils (Pandit and Joshi, 1993) in an ultrasonic generator or in a flow loop. Cavitation in a flow loop was created by throttling a valve downstream from the pump, leading to local temperatures of the order of 300 °C and pressures of the order of 10 atm (normally used in such hydrolyses). This means that reactions normally carried out at relatively high temperatures and pressures can now be carried out not only by using reactors 

The parameters that are most important in hydrodynamic cavitation are the downstream pressure P2, the vapor pressure and density p of the medium, and the velocity of the fluid through the orifice. These are grouped together into a cavitation number defined as 

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Hydrodynamic cavitation reactors have been investigated for more than a decade now in the UDCT Department of Bombay University [63-66]. When applied to some industrially relevant reactions, the hydrodynamically created cavitation appeared to dehver on average an order of magnitude higher cavitation yields than the acoustic cavitation. In addition, the processing volumes could be up to about 100 times larger than in the conventional sonochemical reactors. So far, there is no information about the industrial applications of the hydrodynamic cavitation reactors, although some concepts have already been patented [67]. 

Pandit and co-workers have shown that scale-up may be possible on a more rational basis if cavitation is employed, and some data have been reported by Pandit and Mohalkar (1996), Mohalkar et al. (1999), Senthil et al. (1999), and Cains et al. (1998). A variety of reactors can be used, viz. the liquid whistle reactor, the Branson sonochemical reactor, the Pote reactor, etc. The principal factors affecting the efficiency of a hydrodynamic cavitation reactor are irreversible loss in pressure head and turbulence and friction losses in the reaction rates. 

Gogate PR, Shirgaonkar IZ, Sivakumar M, Senthilkumar P, Vichare NP, Pandit AB (2001) Cavitation reactors Efficiency assessment using a model reaction. AIChE J 47 2526-2538... 

Theory of Cavitation and Design Aspects of Cavitational Reactors... 

Overall, it can be summarized that, use of multiple frequency irradiations based on the use of multiple transducers gives much higher cavitational activity in the reactor and hence enhanced results. It is also recommended that a combination of low frequency irradiation (typically 20 kHz) with other frequencies in the range of 50-200 kHz should be used for obtaining maximum benefits from the cavitational reactors. 

Gogate PR, Pandit AB (2000) Engineering design methods for cavitation reactors I Sonochemical reactors. AIChE J 46 372-379... 

Moholkar et al. [11] studied the effect of operating parameters, viz. recovery pressure and time of recovery in the case of hydrodynamic cavitation reactors and the frequency and intensity of irradiation in the case of acoustic cavitation reactors, on the cavity behavior. From their study, it can be seen that the increase in the frequency of irradiation and reduction in the time of the pressure recovery result in an increment in the lifetime of the cavity, whereas amplitude of cavity oscillations increases with an increase in the intensity of ultrasonic irradiation and the recovery pressure and the rate of pressure recovery. Thus, it can be said that the intensity of ultrasound in the case of acoustic cavitation and the recovery pressure in the case of hydrodynamic cavitation are analogous to each other. Similarly, the frequency of the ultrasound and the time or rate of pressure recovery, are analogous to each other. Thus, it is clear that hydrodynamic cavitation can also be used for carrying out so called sonochemical transformations and the desired/sufficient cavitation intensities can be obtained using proper geometric and operating conditions. 

It is always important to choose an optimum design configuration of the hydrodynamic cavitation reactor so as to maximize the cavitational effects and achieve cost effective operation. In this section, we will discuss available reactor configurations and give some guidelines, based on theoretical analysis coupled with experimental results, for selection of optimum design and operating parameters for hydrodynamic cavitation reactors. 

From the above discussion about various hydrodynamic cavitation reactors, it can be easily concluded that the orifice plate set-up offers maximum flexibility and can also be operated at relatively larger scales of operation. It should be also noted that the scale-up of such reactors is relatively easier as the efficiency of the pump increases with an increase in size (flow rate and discharge pressure) which will necessarily result into higher energy efficiencies. 

Guidelines for Selection of Hydrodynamic Cavitation Reactor Configurations... 

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