Sonocrystallization:  The Use of Ultrasound for Improved Industrial Crystallization

Abstract

An overview of the application of power ultrasound to crystallization of organic molecules, and the equipment developed in recent years in which sonocrystallization and sonochemistry may be carried out at industrial scale, is presented. It includes both results from the research and development programs carried out by us and a survey of developments in the field more generally. The most important effect of ultrasound on crystallization is the induction of nucleation and the principal benefits derived from an ability to manipulate this effect. The reported effects of ultrasound on crystal nucleation and growth have been briefly reviewed, and examples are given of physical properties of the products having been manipulated by varying and controlling the insonation regime. New applications, directions, and developments have been identified. Developments in scale-up methods and available equipment have also been reviewed. It is the availability of robust large-scale equipment that has been critical to establishing the viability of this technology for industrial use in recent years.

Physiochemical Characterization of Iodine (V) Oxide Part II: Morphology and Crystal Structure of Particulate Films

“…Of all of these, sonication is one of the most commonly used, versatile, and significant in that it physically pulverizes solid constituents, typically in a liquid-solid slurry, into smaller fragments of a more uniform size and simultaneously increases the degree of intermixing when multiple components are present. Under some conditions ultrasound can also induce chemical change in a system and more importantly to this work, enhance crystallization in [42,43]. Under such conditions acoustic waves drive bubble formation, growth, and collapse through cavitation, which creates localized temperatures as high as 5000 °C and pressures as high as 500 atmospheres that in turn can induce chemistry [44].…”

“…Under such conditions acoustic waves drive bubble formation, growth, and collapse through cavitation, which creates localized temperatures as high as 5000 °C and pressures as high as 500 atmospheres that in turn can induce chemistry [44]. Nucleation has been shown to be enhanced under such conditions that can facilitate crystallization [43]; thus, sonication can be a powerful tool to induce crystallization in liquid-solid slurries with precipitates possessing a narrow particle size distribution under the right conditions.…”

Solution‐Grown Monocrystalline Hybrid Perovskite Films for Hole‐Transporter‐Free Solar Cells

“…The release of transient ultrahigh energy that typically accompanies the cavitation process is expected to induce nucleation by overcoming the nucleation barrier through rapid local cooling rates, increasing local pressure and accumulating energy to overcome the nucleation barrier. [21] The collapse of cavities is asymmetric near a solid surface and generates high-speed jets of fluid towards the surface, known as micro-jetting. [22] This process has been utilized for film thinning and reducing particle sizes as a result of the induced strong shearing force, [23] which may also contribute to the asymmetric crystal growth we observed here.…”

Preconditioning of a virginiamycin solution for crystallization

“…Such devices consume a large amount of energy, since processes connected with the medium temperature changes require high energy costs, and the cooling is usually more energy-consuming than the heating. Ultrasound is often used to initiate crystallization processes in supersaturated solutions (Ruecroft et al, 2005;Kelly et al, 1993;Anderson et al, 1994;Louhi-Kultanen et al, 2006;Akopyan, Ershov, 2016). At the same time, such approach has some disadvantages, since, depending on the acoustic energy density in the medium and the nature and state of the treated solution, such ultrasonic treatment not always results in the appearance of crystallization nuclei and acceleration of the process of their multiplication.…”