Status and Directions in Electroseparations

Conference · Wed Dec 31 04:00:00 EST 1997

OSTI ID:621550

Tsouris, Costas

In this presentation, a summary of research conducted in the area of electroseparations at the Chemical Technology Division of Oak Ridge National Laboratory is presented. Fields-driven processes, including (1) phase equilibria modification by electric fields and (2) magnetically seeded separations, as well as transport-enhancement processes by electric fields,including (1) surface area generation and (2) electroconvection, are discussed.It is shown that electric fields can change the concentration of the vapor phase during the distillation of a binary mixture, which may have applications in separations by distillation that consume significant amounts of energy. It is also shown that addition of colloidal seed particles of high magnetic susceptibility to a suspension of non-magnetic particles and subsequent flocculation between seed and non-magnetic particles form paramagnetic flocs that can be removed by high- gradient magnetic filtration. Inverse electrostatic spraying, which is the spraying of a non-conductive fluid (such as air) into a conductive fluid (such as water), is introduced and compared with normal electrostatic spraying, which is the spraying of conductive fluid into a non-conductive fluid. Applications of normal electrostatic spraying, including the development of a bioreactor for oil desulfurization, and inverse electrostatic spraying, including ozonation of an aqueous system, are discussed. It is also shown that electroconvection, caused by electric fields,may result in simultaneous pumping, spraying, and mixing of fluids. In summary,new phenomena caused by electric fields are introduced and their potential applications in electroseparations are discussed.

• Research Organization: Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Energy Research, Washington, DC (United States)
• DOE Contract Number: AC05-96OR22464
• OSTI ID: 621550
• Report Number(s): CONF-9707109--1; ON: DE97009356; BR: KC0302020; CNN: Contract DE-AC05-96OR22464
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

40 CHEMISTRY
CONCENTRATION RATIO
DISTILLATION
ELECTRIC FIELDS
ELECTROSTATICS
PRECIPITATION
SEPARATION PROCESSES
SOLVENT EXTRACTION