Enabling low power acoustics for capillary sonoreactors

Abstract

Capillary reactors demonstrate outstanding potential for on-demand flow chemistry applications. However, non-uniform distribution of multiphase flows, poor solid handling, and the risk of clogging limit their usability for continuous manufacturing. While ultrasonic irradiation has been traditionally applied to address some of these limitations, their acoustic efficiency, uniformity and scalability to larger reactor systems are often disregarded. In this work, high-speed microscopic imaging reveals how cavitation-free ultrasound can unclog and prevent the blockage of capillary reactors. Modeling techniques are then adapted from traditional acoustic designs and applied to simulate and prototype sonoreactors with wider and more uniform sonication areas. Blade-, block- and cylindrical shape sonotrodes are optimized to accommodate longer capillary lengths in sonoreactors resonating at 28 kHz. Finally, a novel helicoidal capillary sonoreactor is proposed to potentially deal with a high concentration of solid particles in miniaturized flow chemistry. The acoustic designs and first principle rationalization presented here offer a transformative step forward in the scale-up of efficient capillary sonoreactors.