SBIR Phase I: Sonochemical Reactor

这个小型企业创新研究第一阶段项目将设计、建造和表征一个高效的声化学反应器。众所周知，声化学通过产生微米大小的空化气泡来极大地加速液体反应。不幸的是，由于实际耦合到空化事件中的声功率只有一小部分，它的使用一直局限于实验室。现在，物理学、声学和流体力学的创新组合有望实现声场的有效耦合，从而产生空化。这种新型的声化学反应器将使由于超声波和空化而极大地提高化学反应性的工业应用成为可能。这项技术的更广泛的影响/商业潜力可以有效地扩大液体和浆体的超声波处理，并创建高效的声化学反应器，通过增强混合和反应能力来降低工业处理成本。声化学在混相合成、材料化学、生物医学等领域有着重要而广泛的应用。生物柴油合成、药物结晶和水净化是通过声化学将产量提高十倍的商业机会的例子。低功率超声诊断和清洁应用将催生一个新的声化学处理行业。该项目所形成的理论理解将推动声学和化学工程的发展。

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will design, build, and characterize a highly efficient sonochemical reactor. Sonochemistry is known to dramatically accelerate liquid reactions through the generation of micron sized cavitation bubbles. Unfortunately, its use has been limited to the laboratory due to the small fraction of the acoustic power actually coupled into cavitation events. Now, an innovative combination of physics, acoustics, and hydrodynamics promises to enable efficient coupling of the sound field to generate cavitation. This novel sonochemical reactor will enable industrial application of the enormous increase in chemical reactivity due to ultrasound and cavitation. The broader impact/commercial potential from this technology could enable efficient scale-up of the ultrasonic processing of liquids and slurries and creation of efficient sonochemical reactors which will reduce industrial processing costs through enhanced mixing and reactivity. Sonochemistry has significant and broad applications in mixed-phase synthesis, materials chemistry, and biomedicine. Biodiesel synthesis, pharmaceutical crystallization, and water purification are examples of commercial opportunities for ten fold increases in throughput via sonochemistry. A new industry of sonochemical processing will emerge from low power ultrasound diagnostics and cleaning applications. The theoretical understanding developed in this project will advance acoustics and chemical engineering.