Sonochemistry:  Environmental Science and Engineering Applications

Sonochemical engineering is a field involving the application of sonic and ultrasonic waves to chemical processing. Sonochemistry enhances or promotes chemical reactions and mass transfer. It offers the potential for shorter reaction cycles, cheaper reagents, and less extreme physical conditions, leading to less expensive and perhaps smaller plants. The amount of things that can be accomplished with sonochemistry is, at this stage, only limited by the minds of those working in this exciting field. Existing literature on sonochemical reacting systems is chemistry-intensive, and applications of this novel means of reaction in environmental remediation and pollution prevention seem almost unlimited. For example, environmental sonochemistry is a rapidly growing area that deals with the destruction of organics in aqueous solutions. However, some theoretical and engineering aspects are not fully understood. This paper reviews the field comprehensively by combining the existing knowledge from chemistry with insights into the pathways and kinetic analysis of environmental sonochemical reacting systems and with challenges for large-scale applications. The review is intended to advance our understanding and outline directions for future research.