Harness cavitation to improve processing
- Univ. of Bombay (India)
Mention cavitation to most chemical engineers, and they undoubtedly think of it as an operational problem. Indeed, the rapid creation and then collapse of bubbles, which is after all what cavitation involves, can destroy pumps and erode other equipment. Cavitation, however, also can have a positive side--presuming it is designed for and not unplanned. In this article, the authors look at how cavitation can be harnessed to improve processes, and the mechanisms for inducing cavitation--ultrasonics and hydrodynamics--and their likely roles. Sonication, that is, the use of ultrasound, is the conventional approach for creating cavitation, and so they turn to it first. Over the past few years, a number of groups have attempted to solve the problem of scale-up and design of ultrasonic reactors. The authors review the systems that already exist and also explore a simpler and efficient alternative to the ultrasonic reactor, the hydrodynamic cavitation reactor.
- OSTI ID:
- 276711
- Journal Information:
- Chemical Engineering Progress, Vol. 92, Issue 7; Other Information: PBD: Jul 1996
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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