Apparatus and method for ultrasonic treatment of a liquid

Patent · Tue Jan 14 04:00:00 EST 2003

OSTI ID:874990

Chandler, Darrell P ^[1]; Posakony, Gerald J ^[1]; Bond, Leonard J ^[1]; Bruckner-Lea, Cynthia J ^[1]

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1. Richland, WA

The present invention is an apparatus and method for ultrasonically treating a liquid to generate a product. The apparatus is capable of treating a continuously-flowing, or intermittently-flowing, liquid along a line segment coincident with the flow path of the liquid. The apparatus has one or more ultrasonic transducers positioned asymmetrically about the line segment. The ultrasonic field encompasses the line segment and the ultrasonic energy may be concentrated along the line segment. Lysing treatments have been successfully achieved with efficiencies of greater than 99% using ultrasound at MHz frequencies without erosion or heating problems and without the need for chemical or mechanical pretreatment, or contrast agents. The present invention overcomes drawbacks of current ultrasonic treatments beyond lysing and opens up new sonochemical and sonophysical processing opportunities.

• Research Organization: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE
• DOE Contract Number: AC06-76RL01830
• Assignee: Battelle Memorial Institute (Richland, WA)
• Patent Number(s): 6,506,584
• OSTI ID: 874990
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

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