Hydrodynamic Cavitation - Background
Cavitation
is a process of formation vapor bubbles in flowing liquid.
While generally regarded as negative and damaging for
equipment cavitation is characterized by extremely high
energies of collapsing bubbles. Depending on the magnitude
and nature of the excitation energy the cavitation can be so
intense that it results in
sonoluminescence - the glowing of liquid due to emission
of radiation produced by imploding bubbles. Clearly,
cavitation results in rather extreme and violent physical
conditions characterized by high temperatures (up to
100,000,000K) and very high energies. Arguably, hydrodynamic
cavitation is the base process for
bubble
fusion, a controversial physical process akin of 'cold
fusion' with hotly disputed results.
We are focused on the study of ultrasonic
cavitation, and the equipment that we use produces
ultrasonic cavitation power density exceeding 1MWt/m2, which
is ~100 higher than that of any
previous ultrasonic cavitation setups. Therefore we are able
to greatly amplify unique processes taking place in
imploding bubbles, which have lead us to exciting new
discoveries.
Arguably the most important effect of
massively amplified (e.g. resonant) cavitation is the
ability to catalize chemical reactions, rapture molecular
bonds and affect long-range structure of polymers and
hydrcarbons. The effect is particularly useful for chemical
processing in general and oil & petroleum processing in
particular, bio-fuel production, emulsion and suspension
preparation. As an added benefit massive energy released as
a result of resonant cavitation raptures solid particles
suspended in the processed liquid thus resulting in fine
powder production and complete elimination of any microbial
contamination, thus making the process suitable for
wastewater treatment and food processing.
Research & Development Objective
Largely untapped the process of hydrodynamic cavitation demands further exploration and
represents an onset of an entire new industry built on
principles of resonant cavitation. Our goal is to study the
effects of resonant cavitation and bring the emerging new
technologies to the market. |
