The ultrasonic degradation of hazardous organic compounds in an aqueous solution is an attractive technology for wastewater treatment. The kinetics of ultrasonic degradation has been investigated. However, there have been only a few quantitative studies of the effect of ultrasonic frequency on degradation rate. In this study, the ultrasonic degradation of methylene blue was performed at various frequencies, especially in the high frequency region, and various initial concentrations. From the results of the time dependence of the methylene blue concentration in this study, ultrasonic degradation was considered to be a pseudo-first-order reaction. The apparent degradation rate constant and sonochemical efficiency have a linear relationship, and the apparent rate constant and initial concentration have an inversely proportional relationship. These phenomena well agree with our proposed formula for estimating the apparent degradation rate constant. In addition, our proposed model is also applicable to the ultrasonic degradation of nonvolatile and hydrophilic compounds.

Techniques such as solvent extraction, incineration, chemical dehalogenation, and biodegradation have been investigated for the degradation of hazardous organic compounds. We found ultrasound to be an attractive technology for the degradation of hazardous organic compounds in water. However, the effects of ultrasonic frequency on degradation rate constants were not investigated quantitatively. In this study, the degradation process of a model for hazardous organic compound methylene blue was investigated using ultrasonic irradiation. The study focused on the effects of ultrasonic frequency and ultrasonic power on the degradation rate constant. The apparent degradation rate constants were estimated based on time dependence of methylene blue concentration assuming pseudo-first-order kinetics for the decomposition. A linear relationship between the apparent degradation rate constant and ultrasonic power was identified. In addition, the apparent degradation rate constants at frequencies of 127 and 490 kHz were much larger than those at 22.8 kHz. A relationship between the apparent degradation rate constant and the sonochemical efficiency value (SE value) was also found. Based on these results, a simple model for estimating the apparent degradation rate constant of methylene blue based on the ultrasonic power and the SE value is proposed in this study.

Ultrasound has been found to be an attractive advanced technology for the degradation of hazardous organic compounds in water. In addition, the sonochemical reaction is enhanced by particle addition. However, the enhancement mechanism of particle addition has not been investigated well, because ultrasound enhances not only chemical reactions but also mass transfer. In this study, the ultrasonic degradation of methylene blue was carried out, and the effects of the ultrasonic irradiation condition on the degradation rate were investigated. The effect of ultrasonic frequency on the improvement of degradation by particle addition was also investigated. The order of degradation rate with frequency was the same as the tendency of sonochemical efficiency value obtained using KI oxidation dosimetry method (SE KI). The degradation process of methylene blue was intensified by particle addition, and the degradation rate increased with increasing amount of particle addition. The enhancement of degradation rate by particle addition was influenced by both ultrasonic frequency and type or diameter of particles.

Ultrasound has been used as an advanced oxidation method for wastewater treatment. Sonochemical degradation of organic compounds in aqueous solution occurs by pyrolysis and/or reaction with hydroxyl radicals. Moreover, kinetics of sonochemical degradation has been proposed. However, the effect of ultrasonic frequency on degradation rate has not been investigated. In our previous study, a simple model for estimating the apparent degradation rate of methylene blue was proposed. In this study, sonochemical degradation of methylene blue was performed at various frequencies. Apparent degradation rate constant was evaluated assuming that sonochemical degradation of methylene blue was a first-order reaction. Specifically, we focused on effects of ultrasonic frequency and power on rate constant, and the applicability of our proposed model was demonstrated. Using this approach, maximum sonochemical degradation rate was observed at 490 kHz, which agrees with a previous investigation into the effect of frequency on the sonochemical efficiency value evaluated by KI oxidation dosimetry. Degradation rate increased with ultrasonic power at every frequency. It was also observed that threshold power must be reached for the degradation reaction to progress. The initial methylene blue concentration and the apparent degradation rate constant have a relation of an inverse proportion. Our proposed model for estimating the apparent degradation rate constant using ultrasonic power and sonochemical efficiency value can apply to this study which extended the frequency and initial concentration range.

The ultrasonic degradation of methylene blue at a frequency of 490 kHz was carried out in the absence and presence of TiO2 or Al2O3 particle, and the effects of amounts of particle on the enhancement of degradation rate constant estimated by assuming first-order-kinetics were investigated. The degradation reaction was enhanced by particle addition, and the apparent degradation rate constant is proportional to the increase in amount of particle. In addition, the constant of proportionality is not influenced by degraded material and ultrasonic frequency. However, particle type influences the constant of proportionality, and the value of TiO2 particle is about 6 times as large as that of Al2O3 particle.