Studying the nonlinearity effects in ultrasound-assisted water purification and treatment systems

Abstract

In light of industrial sectors' rapid and exponential growth, the deleterious specter of water pollution looms ominously over our environment. One of the significant challenges is obtaining a sustainable and energy-efficient water purification/treatment system. Since the 1990s, several research studies have been proposed to demonstrate the usefulness of ultrasound as a water purification tool. As a result, newly designed devices such as ultrasound-assisted electrochemical treatment and ultrasound-assisted heat exchanging devices are becoming more common. However, such devices' high voltage ultrasonic emission is a significant problem because the nonlinear acoustic effects are not well understood and are, therefore, not adequately integrated into the design of the devices. Furthermore, the presence of biofilms in these devices creates more complexity due to the interaction of high-amplitude ultrasonic waves with the biofilm network. To better overcome the inefficient functioning of such devices and adverse operational issues, the current study aims to investigate and explain the nonlinear ultrasonic effects in ultrasonic-assisted purification devices, with and without biofilm deposits. The obtained insight will help develop an effective design strategy for high efficiency.