An improved sonochemical reactor

The design and optimization of sonochemical apparatus are still open to advancement. Under high-intensity ultrasound reaction rates and yields are mainly influenced by the characteristics of transducer and reactor. Several useful improvements are introduced and described. In order to achieve uniformity of the acoustic field and optimal acoustic streaming in every part of the reaction vessel (a Teflon tube), the reactor can be made to rotate eccentrically around the horn axis and the probe to move alternatively up and down by a pre-determined excursion at a chosen speed. Continuous high-power irradiation is feasible without any time limit because the whole probe system is refrigerated by an oil forced-circulation circuit connected to a chiller. The apparatus can control a number of important reaction parameters: modified atmosphere, reaction temperature, tunable frequency and constant amplitude. Excellent performance was observed on several reactions, such as the chemical modification of chitosan, a poorly soluble biopolymer.     

Optimization of a sonochemical reactor using a pulsing operation

It is known that sonochemical reactions are enhanced by pulsing ultrasound. A method to optimize a sonochemical reactor using a pulsing operation was studied through the measurement of changes in sonoluminescence (SL) intensity from distilled water under various experimental conditions. It was confirmed that pulsing with a constant input power level enhanced SL intensity at lower power levels because of the higher amplitude of ultrasound. In contrast to this, a quenching effect due to excessive sound pressure appeared at higher power levels, and the pulsing operation was not effective under these conditions. Pulsing is more effective at higher frequency than at lower frequency.     

Parametric study of acoustically-driven microbubble cavitations in a sonochemical reactor

The bubble cavitation along a solid wall is investigated with a three-dimensional model based on the indirect boundary element method. Kinetic energy and Kelvin impulse are calculated in order to quantify the strength of cavitation. The influences of acoustic wave amplitude and frequency and liquid properties on the strength of cavitation are investigated. This study was carried out in order to better understand the relation between microscale processes and macroscale parameters in a sonochemical reactor used for impregnation of fabrics with nanoparticles.     

Numerical simulation of liquid velocity distribution in a sonochemical reactor

Ultrasonically induced flow is an important phenomenon observed in a sonochemical reactor. It controls the mass transport of sonochemical reaction and enhances the reaction performance. In the present paper, the liquid velocity distribution of ultrasonically induced flow in the sonochemical reactor with a transducer at frequency of 490 kHz has been numerically simulated. From the comparison of simulation results and experimental data, the ultrasonic absorption coefficient in the sonochemical reactor has been evaluated. To simulate the liquid velocity near the liquid surface above the transducer, which is the main sonochemical reaction area, it is necessary to include the acoustic fountain shape into the computational domain. The simulation results indicate that the liquid velocity increases with acoustic power. The variation of liquid height also influences the behavior of liquid velocity distribution and the mean velocity above the transducer centre becomes a maximum when the liquid height is 0.4 m. The liquid velocity decreases with increasing the transducer plate radius at the same ultrasonic power.     

FEM calculation of an acoustic field in a sonochemical reactor

The spatial distribution of the acoustic amplitude in a sonochemical reactor has been numerically calculated using the finite element method (FEM). In the FEM program, the acoustic field in a sonochemical reactor is coupled with the vibration of the reactor's wall. The present calculations have revealed that the thin (thick) glass or stainless steel wall is nearly a free (rigid) boundary and that the glass wall is freer than the stainless steel wall. The influence of the attenuation coefficient of ultrasound on the acoustic field has also been studied in order to see the effect of bubbles on the acoustic field. As the attenuation coefficient increases, the vibration amplitude of the reactor's wall becomes smaller and the acoustic emission from the vibrating wall becomes weaker. The qualitative feature of the spatial pattern of sonochemiluminescence from an aqueous luminol solution has been reproduced by the calculation when the attenuation coefficient is in the range of 0.5-5m(-1). When the attenuation coefficient is less than about 0.05 m(-1), the standing wave pattern of an acoustic field in the liquid is very complex due to the acoustic emission from the vibrating wall. The present calculations have also revealed that some stripes of pressure antinodes have also been disconnected when the radius of the transducer is much smaller than the side length of the vibrating plate. The dependence of the acoustic field on the liquid height is also discussed.     

Estimation of absolute sound pressure in a small-sized sonochemical reactor

A small-sized sonochemical reactor in which the absolute value of the sound pressure amplitude can be estimated from the vibration velocity of the transducer was investigated. The sound pressure distribution in the reactor and the relationship between the vibration velocity and the sound pressure amplitude were derived through Helmholtz wave equation. The reactor consists of a bolt-clamped Langevin transducer and a rectangular cell with a tungsten reflector. A 3λ/4-standing-wave-field was generated in the reactor to simplify the sound pressure distribution. The sound pressure distribution was measured from the optical refractive index change of water using a laser interferometer. The experimental and theoretical results showed a good agreement in the absolute value of the sound pressure amplitude, and it was confirmed that the sound pressure in the sonochemical reactor can be estimated from the input current of the vibrator.     

The effects of acoustic flow and mechanical flow on the sonochemical efficiency in a rectangular sonochemical reactor

Visualization of cavitation behavior in a rectangular sonochemical reactor at 490 kHz was carried out by a laser sheet technique and the distribution of liquid flow was measured by a laser Doppler velocimeter. The pattern of liquid flow and distribution of acoustic pressure of the rectangular sonochemical reactor were investigated as a function of the input power from 10 to 50 W. The liquid moved upward above the transducer at every power. As increasing the input power, the random flow out side the cylindrical part above the transducer changed into the convective one and the region of the visualized standing wave which was formed in the cylindrical part changed with the input power. The position showing the sonochemical luminescence exists inside or near the region where the standing wave was visualized. Introduction of a stirrer resulted in disturbance of liquid flow and expanded the position showing the sonochemical luminescence, but the luminescence intensity was weakened. The sonochemical efficiency was enhanced by about twice by introduction of the stirrer. From these results, we discussed the effects of liquid flow on sonochemical efficiency with and without a stirrer.     

双频温控式声化学反应器的研制

介绍一种双频温控式声化学反应器。采用水循环降温方法，使变幅杆式反应头能在大功率状态下长时间稳定辐射，并能有效地将声化学反应器内因超声热效应引起的温升控制在5℃左右。利用自动控制及转换电路，使声源既能在20kHz或35kHz中任一单频辐射工作，又能双频自动交替辐射工作，且工作性能稳定，输出电功率在0-800W可调。     

Mixing MC events in a reactor neutrino experiment

In reactor neutrino experiments, the analysis of time correlations between different physical events is an important task. Such analysis can help to understand the physical mechanisms of the signal and background events as well as the details of event selection and background estimation. This study investigates a "sampling and mixing" method used for producing large MC data samples for the Daya Bay reactor neutrino experiment. We designed a simple, generic mixing algorithm and generated large MC data samples for physics analysis from several samples according to their respective event rates. Basic plots based on the mixed data are shown.     

Baeyer-Villiger oxidation of cyclohexanone to epsilon-caprolactone in airlift sonochemical reactor

Baeyer-Villiger oxidation of cyclohexanone to epsilon-caprolactone was studied in a new type reactor--the airlift loop sonochemical reactor. The reactor plays a synergistic effect of sonochemsity and higher oxygen transfer rate. The influences of ultrasound intensity, reaction temperature, the molar ratio of benzaldehyde to cyclohexanone and oxygen gas flow rate on the conversion and selectivity of cyclohexanone were investigated and discussed. Under ultrasound, the amount of benzaldehyde can be reduced from 75% to 67%. Ultrasound not only intensified the rates of reactions but also increased the yield of product. The optimized operation conditions are listed as follows: the reaction temperature is 30 degrees C, the molar ratio of cyclohexanone to benzaldehyde is 1:2, the oxygen gas flow rate is 1.15 cm s(-1), and ultrasonic irradiations 2h at 40 kHz, 2.25 W cm(-2). Under the optimum operation conditions, the average molar yield of epsilon-caprolactone comes up to 87.7%.     

Quantitative calculation of reaction performance in sonochemical reactor by bubble dynamics

In order to design a sonochemical reactor with high reaction efficiency, it is important to clarify the size and intensity of the sonochemical reaction field. In this study, the reaction field in a sonochemical reactor is estimated from the distribution of pressure above the threshold for cavitation. The quantitation of hydroxide radical in a sonochemical reactor is obtained from the calculation of bubble dynamics and reaction equations. The distribution of the reaction field of the numerical simulation is consistent with that of the sonochemical luminescence. The sound absorption coefficient of liquid in the sonochemical reactor is much larger than that attributed to classical contributions which are heat conduction and shear viscosity. Under the dual irradiation, the reaction field becomes extensive and intensive because the acoustic pressure amplitude is intensified by the interference of two ultrasonic waves.     

Energy balance of high-energy stable acoustic cavitation within dual-frequency sonochemical reactor

The acoustic cavitation bubble as an open energetic system is the seat of conversion of various forms of energy accompanying the bubble oscillation. The energy conversion would explain specific dynamical, thermal and kinetical behaviors. In the present paper, the energy balance related to a stable bubble irradiated by dual-frequency field is simulated numerically and interpreted in accordance with the phenomena occurring inside it. The study particularly focuses on the comparison of the energetic behavior of high-energy stable cavitation with bubbles that are non-active in sonochemistry, submitted to couples of 35, 140, 300 and 515 kHz. The simulation results revealed that pressure forces work is the major energetic input during the bubble oscillation lifetime, while the main energetic loss comes from heat transfer by diffusion and enthalpy loss accompanying water condensation. Besides, high rates of condensation of water molecules and low amounts of accumulated energy inside the bubble volume were identified as the key factors preventing the achievement of the sonochemical activity threshold.     

Mixing MC events in reactor neutrino experiment

In reactor neutrino experiments, the analysis of time correlations between different physical events is an important task. Such analysis can help to understand the physical mechanisms of the signal and background events as well as the details of event selection and background estimation. This study investigates a "sampling and mixing" method used for producing large MC data samples for the Daya Bay reactor neutrino experiment. We designed a simple, generic mixing algorithm and generated large MC data samples for physics analysis from several samples according to their respective event rates. Basic plots based on the mixed data are shown.     

Numerical simulation of the nonlinear ultrasonic pressure wave propagation in a cavitating bubbly liquid inside a sonochemical reactor

We investigate the acoustic wave propagation in bubbly liquid inside a pilot sonochemical reactor which aims to produce antibacterial medical textile fabrics by coating the textile with ZnO or CuO nanoparticles. Computational models on acoustic propagation are developed in order to aid the design procedures. The acoustic pressure wave propagation in the sonoreactor is simulated by solving the Helmholtz equation using a meshless numerical method. The paper implements both the state-of-the-art linear model and a nonlinear wave propagation model recently introduced by Louisnard (2012), and presents a novel iterative solution procedure for the nonlinear propagation model which can be implemented using any numerical method and/or programming tool. Comparative results regarding both the linear and the nonlinear wave propagation are shown. Effects of bubble size distribution and bubble volume fraction on the acoustic wave propagation are discussed in detail. The simulations demonstrate that the nonlinear model successfully captures the realistic spatial distribution of the cavitation zones and the associated acoustic pressure amplitudes.     

Baeyer–Villiger oxidation of cyclohexanone to ε-caprolactone in airlift sonochemical reactor

Baeyer–Villiger oxidation of cyclohexanone to ε-caprolactone was studied in a new type reactor – the airlift loop sonochemical reactor. The reactor plays a synergistic effect of sonochemsity and higher oxygen transfer rate. The influences of ultrasound intensity, reaction temperature, the molar ratio of benzaldehyde to cyclohexanone and oxygen gas flow rate on the conversion and selectivity of cyclohexanone were investigated and discussed. Under ultrasound, the amount of benzaldehyde can be reduced from 75% to 67%. Ultrasound not only intensified the rates of reactions but also increased the yield of product. The optimized operation conditions are listed as follows: the reaction temperature is 30 °C, the molar ratio of cyclohexanone to benzaldehyde is 1:2, the oxygen gas flow rate is 1.15 cm s⁻¹, and ultrasonic irradiations 2 h at 40 kHz, 2.25 W cm⁻². Under the optimum operation conditions, the average molar yield of ε-caprolactone comes up to 87.7%.     

The effect of solution level on calorific and dosimetric results in a 70 kHz tower type sonochemical reactor

In order to design and optimise sonochemical reactors it is important to study the impact of liquid level, or path length, on the standing wave phenomena and the influence this has on temperature increase and OH radical rate of production. In this work, an ultrasonic tower type reactor operating at 70 kHz is investigated with results from variations to liquid levels reported. Calorimetry data was obtained using a modified reactor set up with temperature change monitored at selected points within the chamber. OH radical rate of formation was shown via chemical dosimetry, following the conversion of terephthalic acid (TA) to 2-hydroxyterephthalic acid (HTA). The results obtained have shown that changes in solution depth of a few millimetres significantly impacts on the interaction of the propagated and reflected waveforms with the results of calorific measurements and HTA rates of formation varying by 90% (750 J) and 88% (80 mmol dm(-3) min(-1)) between the operational extremes over the studied depth range.     

Realization of cavitation fields based on the acoustic resonance modes in an immersion-type sonochemical reactor

Different modes of cavitation zones in an immersion-type sonochemical reactor have been realized based on the concept of acoustic resonance fields. The reactor contains three main components, namely a Langevin-type piezoelectric transducer (20 kHz), a metal horn, and a circular cylindrical sonicated cell filled with tap water. In order to diminish the generation of cavitation bubbles near the horn-tip, an enlarged cone-shaped horn is designed to reduce the ultrasonic intensity at the irradiating surface and to get better distribution of energy in the sonicated cell. It is demonstrated both numerically and experimentally that the cell geometry and the horn position have prominent effects on the pressure distribution of the ultrasound in the cell. With appropriate choices of these parameters, the whole reactor works at a resonant state. Several acoustic resonance modes observed in the simulation are realized experimentally to generate a large volume of cavitation zones using a very low ultrasonic power.     

Theoretical analysis of sonochemical degradation of phenol and its chloro-derivatives

Phenol and its chloro-derivatives contribute significantly to environmental pollution hazards due to their high degree of toxicity as well as improper disposal methods. Cavitation can be used successfully for degradation of phenolic compounds and the rates of degradation are dependent on the type of the primary pollutant in the system. In the present work, a theoretical explanation has been provided to explain the observed degradation trends of phenol and chlorophenols on the basis of concentration of the pollutant at the cavitation bubble/solution interface. Chemical stability of these compounds towards radical attack in the liquid phase has been discussed. It has been observed that chloro-derivates degrade much faster as compared to the parent compound due to higher hydrophobicity of chloro-derivates.     

The impact of residence time on ignitability and time to ignition in a toroidal jet-stirred reactor

Understanding of ignition processes is central to design for reliable and safe aerospace combustor systems. Ignition is influenced by many factors including combustor geometry, flow conditions, fuel composition, turbulence intensity, ignition source, and energy deposition method. A toroidal jet-stirred reactor (TJSR) utilizes bulk fluid motion, presence of recirculation zones, a bulk residence time, and turbulence intensities which emulate characteristics relevant to cavity stabilized and swirl stabilized combustors. In this work, a TJSR was used to quantify ignitability and time-to-ignition of premixed ethylene and air. The effects of inlet temperature, residence time, and reactivity were studied on forced ignition processes. Experimental conditions ranged from residence times of 15–35?ms, mixture temperatures of 340–450?K, and equivalence ratios of 0.5–1 using capacitive spark-discharge ignition. The minimum equivalence ratio for ignition (MER), or the equivalence ratio at 50% probability, shows an inverse relationship with mixture temperature and residence time. Prior theory of real engine combustor performance for lean light off, proposed by Ballal and Lefebvre, was compared to the MER and displayed similar trends to the model. Spatially integrated OH* chemiluminescence was used to measure time to ignition within the reactor. Reduction in ignitibility was experienced as the time-to-ignition approached the residence time stressing the importance of device flow time scales in relation to kernel growth dynamics and ignition probability.