Free surface entrainment of oxide particles and their role in ultrasonic treatment performance of aluminum alloys

Although the ultrasonic treatment of molten aluminum has been studied for long period, there is still much to be revealed for this process. Many studies have focused on the investigation of acoustic cavitation and streaming under the horn tip and their effects on the treatment efficiency. However, to the best of our knowledge, no attempt has been done to explain phenomena occurring near or on the melt free surface. Thus, the goal of this study is to investigate phenomena occurring at the free surface during ultrasound irradiation and clarify their possible influence on the ultrasound treatment performance. The results of high temperature and water model experiments reveal that ultrasound irradiation significantly promotes the formation of alumina particles on the melt free surface around sonotrode, and part of these particles can be entrained into aluminum melts. Furthermore, TEM observation results suggested that the entrained alumina inclusions can serve as nucleation sites for the primary Al₃Zr compounds. Most importantly, the oxidation and entrainment of particles from free surface are likely to be controllable by the immersion depth of sonotrode into molten aluminum.     

Estimation of hydroxyl free radicals produced by ultrasound in Fricke solution used as a chemical dosimeter

Hydroxyl free radicals produced in Fricke solution exposed to 80 kV X-rays or 23 kHz ultrasound (intensity 3 W cm⁻²) or 20 kHz ultrasound (intensity 18.9 W cm⁻²) or 3.5 MHz clinical ultrasound (intensity 1.47 W cm⁻²), as estimated from the Fricke dosimetric data, exhibited a linear dose-response relationship. The dosimeter was found to be effective in the concentration range 1.0–8.0 mM of FeSO₄ solution. The hydroxyl radicals produced in Fricke solution were inhibited by the OH radical scavengers dimethyl sulfoxide (200 mM), -histidine (10 mM) and sodium benzoate (10 mM) in a manner proportional to the rate constants of their reaction with the OH radicals. The power threshold for OH radical formation, which is presumably the threshold for cavity formation, was estimated for 23 kHz ultrasound by this dosimeter as 1.28 W cm⁻² for a 4 cm³ sample volume.     

Measuring derived acoustic power of an ultrasound surgical device in the linear and nonlinear operating modes

Objective and motivationThe method for measuring derived acoustic power of an ultrasound point source in the form of a sonotrode tip has been considered in the free acoustic field, according to the IEC 61847 standard. The main objective of this work is measuring averaged pressure magnitude spatial distribution of an sonotrode tip in the free acoustic field conditions at different electrical excitation levels and calculation of the derived acoustic power at excitation frequency (f₀ ≈ 25 kHz). Finding the derived acoustic power of an ultrasonic surgical device in the strong cavitation regime of working, even in the considered laboratory conditions (anechoic pool), will enable better understanding of the biological effects on the tissue produced during operation with the considered device.Experimental methodThe pressure magnitude spatial distribution is measured using B&;K 8103 hydrophone connected with a B&;K 2626 conditioning amplifier, digital storage oscilloscope LeCroy Waverunner 474, where pressure waveforms in the field points are recorded. Using MATLAB with DSP processing toolbox, averaged power spectrum density of recorded pressure signals in different field positions is calculated. The measured pressure magnitude spatial distributions are fitted with the appropriate theoretical models.Theoretical approachesIn the linear operating mode, using the acoustic reciprocity principle, the sonotrode tip is theoretically described as radially oscillating sphere (ROS) and transversely oscillating sphere (TOS) in the vicinity of pressure release boundary. The measured pressure magnitude spatial distribution is fitted with theoretical curves, describing the pressure field of the considered theoretical models. The velocity and displacement magnitudes with derived acoustic power of equivalent theoretical sources are found, and the electroacoustic efficiency factor is calculated. When the transmitter is excited at higher electrical power levels, the displacement magnitude of sonotrode tip is increased, and nonlinear behaviour in loading medium appears, with strong cavitation activity produced hydrodynamically. The presence of harmonics, subharmonics and ultraharmonics as a consequence of stable cavitation is evident in the averaged power spectral density. The cavitation noise with continuous frequency components is present as a consequence of transient cavitation. The averaged pressure magnitude at the frequency components of interest (discrete and continous) in the field points is found by calculating average power spectral density of the recorded pressure waveform signal using the welch method. The frequency band of interest where average power spectral density is calculated is in the range from 15 Hz up to 120 kHz due to measurement system restrictions. The novelty in the approach is the application of the acoustic reciprocity principle on the nonlinear system (sonotrode tip and bubble cloud) to find neccessary acoustic power of the equivalent acoustic source to produce the measured pressure magnitude in the field points at the frequency components of interest.ResultsIn the nonlinear operating mode, the ROS model for the considered sonotrode tip is chosen due to the better agreement between measurement results and theoretical considerations. At higher excitation levels, it is shown that the averaged pressure magnitude spatial distribution of discrete frequency components, produced due to stable cavitation, can be fitted in the far field with the inverse distance law. The reduced electroacoustic efficiency factor, calculated at excitation frequency component as ratio of derived acoustic power with applied electrical power, is reduced from 40% in the linear to 3% in the strong nonlinear operating mode. The derived acoustic power at other frequency components (subharmonic, harmonic and ultraharmonic) is negligible in comparison with the derived acoustic power at excitation frequency.Discussion and conclusionsThe sonotrode tip and loading medium are shown in the strong cavitation regime as the coupled nonlinear dynamical system radiating acoustic power at frequency components appearing in the spectrum. The bubble cloud in the strong nonlinear operating mode decreases the derived acoustic power significantly at the excitation frequency.     

Comparative study of sonochemical reactors with different geometry using thermal and chemical probes

Laboratory scale 20 kHz sonochemical reactors with different geometries have been tested using thermal probes, the kinetics of H(2)O(2) formation, and the kinetics of diphenylmethane (DPhM) sonochemical darkening. Results revealed that the overall sonochemical reaction rates in H(2)O and DPhM are driven by the total absorbed acoustic energy and roughly independent the geometry of the studied reactors. However, the sonochemical efficiency, defined as eta=VG/S, where G is a sonochemical yield of H(2)O(2), V is a volume of sonicated liquid, and S is a surface of the sonotrode, was proved to increase with the decrease of S. This phenomenon was explained by growing of the maximum cavitating bubble size with ultrasonic intensity and its independence towards the specific absorbed acoustic power. For the cleaning bath reactor the kinetics of the sonochemical reactions in H(2)O and DPhM depends strongly on the reaction vessel materials: the reaction rates decreased with the increase of the materials elasticity. Kinetic study of H(2)SO(4) sonolysis using a sonoreactor without direct contact with titanium sonotrode showed that sulphate anion is an effective scavenger of OH() radicals formed during water sonolysis.     

Mechanistic insight into sono-enzymatic degradation of organic pollutants with kinetic and thermodynamic analysis

In this paper, we have attempted to get a physical insight into process of sono-enzymatic treatment for degradation of recalcitrant organic pollutants. Decolourization of an azo dye has been used as model reaction with different experimental protocols that alter characteristics of ultrasound and cavitation phenomena in the system. Experimental data is analyzed to determine kinetic and thermodynamic parameters of decolorization process. The trends observed in kinetic and thermodynamic parameters of decolourization are essentially manifestations of the dominating mechanism of the decolorization of the textile dye (or nature of prevalent chemical reaction in the system), viz. either molecular reaction due to enzyme or radical reaction due to transient cavitation. The activation energy for sonochemical protocol is negative, which indicates instantaneity of the radical reactions. The frequency factor is also low, which is attributed to high instability of radicals. For enzymatic and sono-enzymatic protocols, activation energy is positive with higher frequency factor. Enthalpy change for sonochemical protocol is negative, while that for enzymatic and sono-enzymatic protocols is positive. The net entropy change for sonochemical protocol is more negative than enzymatic or sono-enzymatic protocol due to differences in prevalent chemical mechanism of dye decolorization. Due to inverse variations of frequency factor and activation energy, marginal rise in reaction kinetics is seen for sono-enzymatic protocol, as compared to enzymatic treatment alone. Due to inverse variations of enthalpy and entropy change, net Gibbs energy change in all experimental protocols shows little variation indicating synergism of the mechanism of ultrasound and enzyme.     

Evidence for free radicals produced in aqueous solutions by diagnostic ultrasound

Recent theoretical calculations have shown that small gas nuclei in water exposed to microsecond ultrasonic pulses above an intensity threshold may grow into transient cavities that collapse violently, leading to the formation of .OH radicals and .H atoms. We have detected these free radicals in aqueous solutions exposed to microsecond pulsed ultrasound using spin trapping and electron spin resonance (ESR). The public health implications of our results are discussed.     

甲烷在空气燃烧的等离子体射流助燃效应的光谱研究

大气压氩等离子体射流是一种非平衡等离子体,能够产生大量的电子、离子、激发态粒子和活性基团,在燃烧过程中这些粒子的参与能够大大降低化学反应的活化能,而等离子体射流的动力学效应影响粒子输运过程,使得等离子体射流具有一定程度的辅助燃烧效果。本实验通过发射光谱测量,分别识别出了在非预混和预混的甲烷燃烧过程参与燃烧的中间物种（OH,CH和C₂）,测量了这些自由基的发射光谱强度随着外部控制变量（放电电压、混合当量比）变化的规律。对于非预混情况,实验发现随着产生等离子体射流放电电压的增大,火焰总体长度变短,火焰面出现褶皱,火焰根部蓝色区域面积不断扩大,在22 kV时,大约占总火焰面积的1/2。对火焰根部的发射光谱测量结果表明,当电压达到16 kV时,发射光谱明显增强,而当电压进一步增大到22 kV时,这些自由基粒子的光谱强度却出现下降,这归因于在等离子体产生的电离风作用下管内气体流速增大,导致燃烧区发生移动远离喷口,使采集到的火焰根部区域变小造成的。另外,研究了在不同的燃料当量比下等离子体射流对预混气体助燃的过程,实验发现燃料当量比为2时,OH(A-X)的光谱发射强度随电压的增大而增强而CH(A-X)和C₂(d)的发射强度在等离子体射流直接作用的情况下减小,反映了在氩等离子体射流参与助燃下燃烧变得更加充分了。实验发现等离子体射流产生大量的自由基以及等离子体电离风对混合过程的影响能够对燃烧过程产生明显影响。     

Developing ultrasound-assisted hot-air and infrared drying technology for sweet potatoes

The influence of ultrasound (US) pretreatments combined with infrared (IRD) and hot-air (HAD) drying on drying kinetics, mathematical modeling, bioactive compounds (antioxidant activities, Vitamin C, phenolics, and flavonoid contents), qualitative properties (β-carotene, total carotenoids, color indexes, textural profile), enzyme inactivation, and exergetic analysis of sweet potatoes. The US pretreatment at 40 kHz combined with IRD and HAD (70 °C) significantly lessened the drying time and water contents. Besides, it did not affect the sweet potato's bioactive components and other quality-related attributes. The samples’ activation energy (E_a) ranged from 17.60 to 29.86 kJ/mol for both dryers, with R² (0.999–0.9809). Control samples had the highest specific energy consumption (SEC) due to the extended drying period, whereas ultrasound (40 kHz) treated samples had the lowest SEC during HAD and IRD at 80 °C. The thermodynamic parameters indicated that increasing the drying temperature lowers the enthalpy and Gibbs free energy, while entropy resulted in negative values. HAD had better textural qualities (hardness and resilience). The US pretreatments followed by HAD or IRD may lead to an energy-efficient method with acceptable quality maintenance.     

空心针板放电等离子体气体温度和振动温度研究

使用空心针板放电装置,以氩气作为导入气体,在大气环境下产生了1.6~3 cm波长的等离子体炬。利用发射光谱法,研究了等离子体炬弧根和弧梢处的气体温度和振动温度,以及它们随气体流量的变化。等离子体气体温度通过对OH基309 nm附近的谱带进行拟合得到,等离子体振动温度由氮分子第二正带系C3Πu—B3Πg计算得到。实验发现弧根和弧梢处的气体温度相等,并随着气体流量的增大而下降。当气体流量从3.0 mL.min-1增大到6.5 mL.min-1时,气体温度由350 K下降到300 K。当气体流量较小(如3.0 mL.min-1)时,弧梢处的振动温度(1 950 K)高于弧根处的振动温度(1 755 K)。随着气体流量的增大,弧梢处与弧根处的振动温度均下降,但弧梢处下降速率较快。当气体流量较大时,二者趋于相等。     

Sonochemical and photosonochemical degradation of 4-chlorophenol in aqueous media

The degradation of 4-chlorophenol (4-CP) in aqueous media by 516 kHz ultrasonic irradiation was investigated in order to clarify the degradation mechanism. The degradation of concentrated 4-CP solution by means of ultrasound, UV irradiation and their combined application was also studied. The obtained results indicate that *OH radical are the primary reactive species responsible for 4-CP ultrasonic degradation. Very little 4-CP degradation occurs if the sonolysis is carried out in the presence of the *OH radical scavenger tert-butyl alcohol, also indicating that little or no pyrolysis of the compound occurs. The dominant degradation mechanism is the reaction of substrate with *OH radicals at the gas bubble-liquid interface rather than high temperature direct pyrolysis in ultrasonic cavities. This mechanism can explain the lower degradation rate of the ionic form of 4-CP that is partly due to the rapid dissociation of *OH radicals in alkaline solutions. The sonochemical destruction of concentrated 4-CP aqueous solution is obtained with low rate. Coupling photolysis with ultrasound irradiation results in increased efficiency compared to the individual processes operating at common conditions. Interestingly, the photosonochemical decomposition rate constant is greater than the additive rate constants of the two processes. This may be the result of three different oxidative processes direct photochemical action, high frequency sonochemistry and reaction with ozone produced by UV irradiation of air, dissolved in liquid phase because of the geyser effect of ultrasound streaming. Additionally, the photodecomposition, at 254 nm, of hydrogen peroxide produced by ultrasound generating *OH radical can partly explain the destruction enhancement.     

Liposome destruction by hydrodynamic cavitation in comparison to chemical,physical and mechanical treatments

Liposomes are widely applied in research, diagnostics, medicine and in industry. In this study we show for the first time the effect of hydrodynamic cavitation on liposome stability and compare it to the effect of well described chemical, physical and mechanical treatments. Fluorescein loaded giant 1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DOPC) lipid vesicles were treated with hydrodynamic cavitation as promising method in inactivation of biological samples. Hydrodynamic treatment was compared to various chemical, physical and mechanical stressors such as ionic strength and osmolarity agents (glucose, Na⁺, Ca²⁺, and Fe³⁺), free radicals, shear stresses (pipetting, vortex mixing, rotational shear stress), high pressure, electroporation, centrifugation, surface active agents (Triton X-100, ethanol), microwave irradiation, heating, freezing-thawing, ultrasound (ultrasonic bath, sonotrode). The fluorescence intensity of individual fluorescein loaded lipid vesicles was measured with confocal laser microscopy. The distribution of lipid vesicle size, vesicle fluorescence intensity, and the number of fluorescein loaded vesicles was determined before and after treatment with different stressors. The different environmental stressors were ranked in order of their relative effect on liposome fluorescein release. Of all tested chemical, physical and mechanical treatments for stability of lipid vesicles, the most detrimental effect on vesicles stability had hydrodynamic cavitation, vortex mixing with glass beads and ultrasound. Here we showed, for the first time that hydrodynamic cavitation was among the most effective physico-chemical treatments in destroying lipid vesicles. This work provides a benchmark for lipid vesicle robustness to a variety of different physico-chemical and mechanical parameters important in lipid vesicle preparation and application.     

Effects of multi-frequency power ultrasound on the enzymolysis of corn gluten meal: Kinetics and thermodynamics study

The effects of multi-frequency power ultrasound (MPU) pretreatment on the kinetics and thermodynamics of corn gluten meal (CGM) were investigated in this research. The apparent constant (K_M), apparent break-down rate constant (k_A), reaction rate constants (k), energy of activation (E_a), enthalpy of activation (ΔH), entropy of activation (ΔS) and Gibbs free energy of activation (ΔG) were determined by means of the Michaelis–Menten equation, first-order kinetics model, Arrhenius equation and transition state theory, respectively. The results showed that MPU pretreatment can accelerate the enzymolysis of CGM under different enzymolysis conditions, viz. substrate concentration, enzyme concentration, pH, and temperature. Kinetics analysis revealed that MPU pretreatment decreased the K_M value by 26.1% and increased the k_A value by 7.3%, indicating ultrasound pretreatment increased the affinity between enzyme and substrate. In addition, the values of k for ultrasound pretreatment were increased by 84.8%, 41.9%, 28.9%, and 18.8% at the temperature of 293, 303, 313 and 323 K, respectively. For the thermodynamic parameters, ultrasound decreased E_a, ΔH and ΔS by 23.0%, 24.3% and 25.3%, respectively, but ultrasound had little change in ΔG value in the temperature range of 293–323 K. In conclusion, MPU pretreatment could remarkably enhance the enzymolysis of CGM, and this method can be applied to protein proteolysis industry to produce peptides.     

高锰酸钾测定痕量亚硝酸根的热动力学微量热法研究

用微热量计对高锰酸钾测定痕量亚硝酸根在水中的液液反应进行了热动力学研究。通过实验和计算得出该反应的热力学参数(活化焓、活化熵及活化自由能)、速率常数和动力学参数(活化能、指前因子及反应级数)。结合实验数据讨论了反应的条件。     

Optical study of radicals (OH,O, H,N) in a needle-plate bi-directional pulsed corona discharge

In this study, analysis of optical emission spectra are used for the detection of OH (A²Σ) radicals and O (3p⁵P), H_α (3P) and N (3p⁴P) active atoms produced by the high-voltage bi-directional pulsed corona discharge of N₂ and H₂O mixture gas in a needle-plate reactor at one atmosphere. The relative vibrational populations and the vibrational temperature of N₂ (C, v') are determined. The effects of pulse peak voltage, pulse repetition rate and the added O₂ flow rate on the relative populations of OH (A²Σ) radicals and O (3p⁵P), H_α (3P) and N (3p⁴P) active atoms are investigated. It is found that when pulse peak voltage and pulse repetition rate are increased, the relative populations of those excited states radicals rise correspondingly. The relative population of OH (A²Σ) radicals decreases with increasing the flow rate of oxygen. The relative populations of O (3p⁵P), H_α (3P) and N (3p⁴P) active atoms increase with the flow rate of oxygen at first and exhibit a maximum value at about 30 ml/min. When the flow rate of oxygen is increased further, the relative populations of those excited states active atoms decrease correspondingly. The main involved physicochemical processes also have been discussed.     

OH-radical formation by ultrasound in aqueous solution--Part II: Terephthalate and Fricke dosimetry and the influence of various conditions on the sonolytic yield

Terephthalate and Fricke dosimetry have been carried out to determine the sonolytic energy yields of the OH free radical and of its recombination product H2O2 in aqueous solutions under various operating conditions (nature of operating gas, power, frequency, temperature). For example, in the sonolysis of Ar-saturated terephthalate solutions at room temperature, a frequency of 321 kHz, and a power of 170 W kg-1, the total yield [G(.OH) + 2 G(H2O2)], equals 16 x 10(-10) mol J-1. This represents the total of .OH that reach the liquid phase from gas phase of the cavitating bubble. The higher the solute concentration, the lower the H2O2 production as more of the OH free radicals are scavenged, in competition with their recombination. Fricke dosimetry, in the absence and presence of Cu2+ ions, shows that the yield of H atom reaching the liquid phase is much lower, with G(H.) of the order of 3 x 10(-10) mol J-1. These sonolytic yields are smaller in solutions that are at the point of gas saturation, and increase to an optimum as the initial sonication-induced degassing and effervescence subsides. The probing of the sonic field has shown that the rate of sonolytic free-radical formation may vary across the sonicated volume depending on frequency and power input.     

微波液相放电等离子体发射光谱研究

液相放电能够产生各种活性物质,其中羟基自由基(OH),氢自由基(H)被认为是引发液相化学反应的主要活性物种,但由于其活性强寿命短的特点,测量比较困难,由于缺少标准样品,定量测量更为困难。用光学方法测量自由基是一种直接测量方法,其特点是瞬时在线测量,能立即获得数据,进行时间和空间分布测量。为了研究微波水中放电产生的自由基特性,利用发射光谱诊断技术对微波水中放电产生的活性物质进行了在线检测,考察了微波功率、反应器内部压强对OH自由基相对光谱强度的影响,并观测了等离子体中OH自由基强度的空间分布;同时,估算了微波液相等离子体中的电子激发温度。实验结果表明,微波水中放电可以产生大量的OH,H,O自由基,其中OH自由基的相对光谱强度最强,并随微波功率的增加呈现明显上升的趋势,随反应器内部压强的增大而迅速减弱;以OH为主的自由基主要产生于电极尖端附近。微波液相等离子体的电子激发温度约为0.33×104 K。     

OH number densities and plasma jet behavior in atmospheric microwave plasma jets operating with different plasma gases (Ar,Ar/N<Subscript>2</Subscript>, and Ar/O<Subscript>2</Subscript>)

OH radical number density in multiple atmospheric pressure microwave plasma jets is measured using UV cavity ringdown spectroscopy of the OH (A–X) (0–0) band at 308 nm. The plasma cavity was excited by a 2.45 GHz microwave plasma source and plasma jets of 2–12 mm long were generated by using three different plasma gases, argon (Ar), Ar/N₂, and Ar/O₂. Comparative characterization of the plasma jets in terms of plasma shape, stability, gas temperature, emission intensities of OH, NO, and N₂, and absolute number density of the OH radical was carried out under different plasma gas flow rates and powers at various locations along the plasma jet axis. With three different operating gases, the presence of OH radicals in all of the plasma jets extended to the far downstream. As compared to the argon plasma jets, the plasma jets formed with Ar/N₂ and Ar/O₂ are more diffuse and less stable. Plasma gas temperatures along the jet axis were measured to be in the range of 470–800 K for all of the jets formed in the different gas mixtures. In each plasma jet, OH number density decreases along the jet axis from the highest OH density in the vicinity of the jet tip to the lowest in the far downstream. OH density ranges from 1.3 × 10¹² to 1.1 × 10¹⁶, 4.1 × 10¹³ to 3.9 × 10¹⁵, and 7.0 × 10¹² to 4.6 × 10¹⁶ molecule/cm³ in the Ar, Ar/N₂, and Ar/O₂ plasma jets, respectively. The OH density dependence on plasma power and gas flow rate in the three plasma jets is also investigated.     

Improving the enzymolysis efficiency of potato protein by simultaneous dual-frequency energy-gathered ultrasound pretreatment: Thermodynamics and kinetics

The thermodynamics and kinetics of traditional and simultaneous dual frequency energy-gathered ultrasound (SDFU) assisted enzymolysis of potato protein were investigated to get the knowledge of the mechanisms on the SDFU’s promoting efficiency during enzymolysis. The concentration of potato protein hydrolysate and parameters of thermodynamic and kinetic during traditional and SDFU assisted enzymolysis were determined. The results showed that potato protein hydrolysate concentration of SDFU assisted enzymolysis was higher than traditional enzymolysis at the hydrolysis time of 60 min (p < 0.05) whereas not significantly different at 120 min (p > 0.05). In some cases, SDFU assisted enzymolysis took less hydrolysis time than traditional enzymolysis when the similar conversion rates of potato protein were obtained. The thermodynamic papameters including the energy of activation (E_a), enthalpy of activation (△H), entropy of activation (△S) were reduced by ultrasound pretreatment while Gibbs free energy of activation (△G) increased little (1.6%). Also, kinetic papameters including Michaelis constant (K_M) and catalytic rate constant (k_cat) decreased by ultrasound pretreatment. On the contrary, reaction rate constants (k) of SDFU assisted enzymolysis were higher than that of traditional enzymolysis (p < 0.05). It was indicated that the efficiency of SDFU assisted enzymolysis was higher than traditional enzymolysis in a limited time. The higher efficiency of SDFU assisted enzymolysis was related with the decrease of E_a and K_M by lowering the energy barrier between ground and active state and increasing affinity between substrate and enzyme.     

Nature of delayed luminescence of N-methylindole and indole in the gas phase

We have studied the spectral characteristics and the kinetics of delayed (long-lived) luminescence of N-methylindole and indole in the gas phase. For N-methylindole, we observed delayed annihilation fluorescence, spectrally matching fast fluorescence. There is no delayed annihilation fluorescence for indole, but we observed a delayed luminescence band with wavelength at the maximum 535 nm, which we interpreted as luminescence of free radicals formed as a result of dissociation of the N-H bond. We hypothesize that the excited states of the free radicals arise as a result of nonradiative energy transfer from indole in the triplet state to indole free radicals in the doublet state. The lifetimes of the triplet states of N-methylindole and indole in the gas phase at T = 373 K, obtained from analysis of the delayed luminescence kinetics, are 2.5 msec and 1.0 msec. __________ Translated from Zhurnal Prikladnoi Spektroskopii, Vol. 74, No. 3, pp. 341–345, May–June, 2007.     

Ultrasonic coal-wash for de-sulfurization

Coal is the one of the world's most abundant fossil fuel resources. It is not a clean fuel, as it contains ash and sulfur. SOx as a pollutant are a real threat to both the ecosystem and to human health. There are numerous de-sulfurization methods to control SO(2) emissions. Nowadays, online flue gas de-sulfurization is being used as one such method to remove sulfur from coal during combustion. The biggest disadvantage associated with this method is formation of by-products (FGD gypsum). A way for effective usage of FGD gypsum has not yet been found. This will lead to acute and chronic effects to humans as well as plants. Power ultrasound can be used for the beneficiation of coal by the removal of sulfur from coal prior to coal combustion. The main effects of ultrasound in liquid medium are acoustic cavitation and acoustic streaming. The process of formation, growth and implosion of bubbles is called cavitation. Bulk fluid motion due to sound energy absorption is known as acoustic streaming. In addition, coupling of an acoustic field to water produces OH radicals, H(2)O(2), O(2), ozone and HO(2) that are strong oxidizing agents. Oxidation that occurs due to ultrasound is called Advanced Oxidation Process (AOP). It converts sulfur from coal to water-soluble sulphates. Conventional chemical-based soaking and stirring methods are compared here to ultrasonic methods of de-sulfurization. The main advantages of ultrasonic de-sulfurization over conventional methods, the mechanism involved in ultrasonic de-sulfurization and the difference between aqueous-based and solvent-based (2N HNO(3), 3-volume percentage H(2)O(2)) de-sulfurization are investigated experimentally.