Ultrasound‐assisted emerging technologies for chemical processes

Abstract

The chemical industry has witnessed many important developments during past decades largely enabled by process intensification techniques. Some of them are already proven at commercial scale (e.g. reactive distillation) while others (e.g. ultrasound‐assisted extraction/crystallization/reaction) are on their way to becoming the next‐generation technologies. This article focuses on the advances of ultrasound (US)‐assisted technologies that could lead in the near future to significant improvements in commercial activities. The aim is to provide an authoritative discussion on US‐assisted technologies that are currently emerging from the research environment into the chemical industry, as well as give an overview of the current state‐of‐the‐art applications of US in chemical processing (e.g. enzymatic reactive distillation, crystallization of API). Sufficient information is included to allow the assessment of US‐assisted technologies and the challenges for implementation, as well as their potential for commercial applications. © 2017 The Authors. Journal of Chemical Technology & Biotechnology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.

Effects of ultrasound on the fermentation profile of fermented milk products incorporated with lactic acid bacteria

“…Advantages of high-powered US over conventional processes are higher product yields, shorter processing times and improved product characteristics (Patist & Bates, 2008). However, the main technological limitations that makes the scaling-up of laboratory applications of US in to industrial scale is the increase of the US horn diameter without reducing the vibration amplitude (Kiss et al, 2018). In industrial applications, a larger horn diameter is preferred to produce a larger cavitation zone.…”

“…However, there are several unsettled scale-up challenges, such as irregular cavitation field distribution during the installation of transducers on curved surfaces that may be essential for (Kiss et al, 2018). The employment of US technology to the food industry still faces considerable challenges mainly due to the limitations in conventional US processes that have partly been resolved with the invention of the Barbell horn.…”

Reactive Distillation: Stepping Up to the Next Level of Process Intensification

“…liquid-liquid extraction, crystallization, reactive distillation) include: high energy-density source (of lower volume), operational flexibility, fast response time to variations in inlet conditions, and low operating costs. 73 However, due to the technical and operational limitations to scale up US systems, the transition from the lab to industrial scale has been hindered so far. Activation of enzymes by ultrasound leads to ultrasound-assisted ERD (US-ERD), with concomitant benefits, including reduced energy (utility) requirements, related to significantly increased reaction rates.…”

Construction of Z‐scheme Pt‐TiO2/(Er3+:Y3Al5O12@Ta2O5)/HAP and its application in sonocatalytic degradation of prometryn and disinfection of Escherichia coli

“…In the past, the commonly used methods for removing prometryn included adsorption, ozone oxidation and Fenton oxidation . Recently, ultrasound oxidation technology has been considered as an ideal method for the treatment of wastewater . In fact, ultrasound technology can be employed to treat low transparent or non‐transparent wastewater with complex components, such as pharmaceutical, herbicide and dye wastewaters .…”