Ultrasonic Production of Nano-Size Dispersions and Emulsions

TL;DR

This paper reviews ultrasonic methods for producing nano-sized dispersions and emulsions, emphasizing process efficiency, scale-up challenges, and the potential of cavitation effects in industrial applications.

Contribution

It discusses the importance of optimizing ultrasonic processes for nano-material production and addresses scale-up considerations beyond just increasing power.

Findings

Ultrasound effectively reduces particle size in dispersions and emulsions.

Energy efficiency is critical for industrial-scale ultrasonic processing.

Scaling up requires more than just increasing power, involving process optimization.

Abstract

Ultrasound is a well-established method for particle size reduction in dispersions and emulsions. Ultrasonic processors are used in the generation of nano-size material slurries, dispersions and emulsions because of the potential in the deagglomeration and the reduction of primaries. These are the mechanical effects of ultrasonic cavitation. Ultrasound can also be used to influence chemical reactions by the cavitation energy. This is sonochemistry. As the market for nano-size materials grows, the demand for ultrasonic processes at production level increases. At this stage, energy efficiency becomes important. Since the energy required per weight or volume of processed material links directly to the equipment size required, optimization of the process efficiency is essential to reduce investment and operational costs. Furthermore it is required to scale the lab and bench top configurations to this final level without any variations in the process achievements. Scale up by power alone will not do this.