Apparatus and method for ultrasonic treatment of a liquid
US6506584B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Apr 28, 2000 |
| Grant date | Jan 14, 2003 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Apr 28, 2020 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC B)Performing Operations; Transporting
- CPC primaryB01J2219/1943
- WIPO fieldBiotechnology
- WIPO sectorChemistry
Abstract
The present invention is an apparatus and method for ultrasonically treating a liquid to generate a product. The apparatus is capable of treating a continuously-flowing, or intermittently-flowing, liquid along a line segment coincident with the flow path of the liquid. The apparatus has one or more ultrasonic transducers positioned asymmetrically about the line segment. The ultrasonic field encompasses the line segment and the ultrasonic energy may be concentrated along the line segment. Lysing treatments have been successfully achieved with efficiencies of greater than 99% using ultrasound at MHz frequencies without erosion or heating problems and without the need for chemical or mechanical pretreatment, or contrast agents. The present invention overcomes drawbacks of current ultrasonic treatments beyond lysing and opens up new sonochemical and sonophysical processing opportunities.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.