Ultrasound acoustic cavitation process

Abstract The fundamental science responsible for chemical and physical effects caused by ultrasound in a liquid medium is discussed in this chapter. Various events that occur when sound waves of appropriate frequency and power interact with a liquid medium are explained. Acoustic cavitation process and the generation of strong physical forces and highly reactive radicals have been described in simple terms. Also, the effect of acoustic frequency on the physical and chemical effects is discussed. Overall, this chapter provides a simplistic view of acoustic cavitation and associated events that is required to fully understand the processes discussed in Chap. 2. 

Ultrasound can thus be used to enhance kinetics, flow, and mass and heat transfer. The overall results are that organic synthetic reactions show increased rate (sometimes even from hours to minutes, up to 25 times faster), and/or increased yield (tens of percentages, sometimes even starting from 0% yield in nonsonicated conditions). In multiphase systems, gas-liquid and solid-liquid mass transfer has been observed to increase by 5- and 20-fold, respectively [35]. Membrane fluxes have been enhanced by up to a factor of 8 [56]. Despite these results, use of acoustics, and ultrasound in particular, in chemical industry is mainly limited to the fields of cleaning and decontamination [55]. One of the main barriers to industrial application of sonochemical processes is control and scale-up of ultrasound concepts into operable processes. Therefore, a better understanding is required of the relation between a cavitation coUapse and chemical reactivity, as weU as a better understanding and reproducibility of the influence of various design and operational parameters on the cavitation process. Also, rehable mathematical models and scale-up procedures need to be developed [35, 54, 55]. 

Abstract Acoustic cavitation is the formation and collapse of bubbles in liquid irradiated by intense ultrasound. The speed of the bubble collapse sometimes reaches the sound velocity in the liquid. Accordingly, the bubble collapse becomes a quasi-adiabatic process. The temperature and pressure inside a bubble increase to thousands of Kelvin and thousands of bars, respectively. As a result, water vapor and oxygen, if present, are dissociated inside a bubble and oxidants such as OH, O, and H2O2 are produced, which is called sonochemical reactions. The pulsation of active bubbles is intrinsically nonlinear. In the present review, fundamentals of acoustic cavitation, sonochemistry, and acoustic fields in sonochemical reactors have been discussed. 

Sonochemical destruction is a process for the destruction of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in water using ultrasound. The technique is being researched for the treatment of contaminated ground and process water. Sonochemistry in liquids is the inducement of chemical reactions by the application of ultrasound energy acoustic cavitation results in the formation of hot spots of intense temperature and pressure that cause the destruction of VOCs. 

Sonochemistry is the research area in which molecules undergo chemical reaction due to the application of powerful ultrasound radiation (20 KHz-10 MHz) [4]. The physical phenomenon responsible for the sonochemical process is acoustic cavitation. Let us first address the question of how 20 kHz radiation can rupture chemical bonds (the question is also related to 1 MHz radiation), and try to explain the role of a few parameters in determining the yield of a sonochemical reaction, and then describe the unique products obtained when ultrasound radiation is used in materials science. 

In Great Britain, Crowford [2], Notlingk and Neppiras [24], Chalmers [25], and a number of other scientists have devoted their work to the ultrasound effect on metallurgical processes. Recently the investigations on intensification of various chemical and metallurgical processes under acoustic cavitation field are centered at Coventry University (Mason [26]). 

It is well known that some amounts of cavities or small bubbles are present in rubber during any type of mbber processing (Kasner and Meinecke, 1996). The formation of bubbles can be nucleated by precursor cavities of appropriate size (Gent and Tompkins, 1969). The proposed models (Isayev et al., 1996a,c,d Yashin and Isayev, 1999,2000) were based upon a mechanism of rubber network breakdown caused by cavitation, which is created by high intensity ultrasonic waves in the presence of pressure and heat. Driven by ultrasound, the cavities pulsate with amplitude depending mostly upon the ratio between ambient and ultrasonic pressures (acoustic cavitation). 

High power ultrasound applied to an alkoxide/water mixture makes it possible to obtain nanostructured materials. The process is driven by the acoustic cavitation phenomenon. The cavities act as nanoreactors, where the hydrolysis reaction starts. The products (alcohol, water, and silanol) help continue the dissolution of that immiscible mixture. 

Combined electrochemical-ultrasound systems are very efficient for organic degradation. Electrochemical oxidation processes are under mass-transport control at normal operating conditions [1, 2]. Therefore, enhancement of mass transport would be of primary importance to optimization of the processes. The ultrasound treatment, which is associated with acoustic cavitations in liquid media, is a rapid developing field in organic degradation [3, 4]. When... 

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