Effect of Ultrasound on Adsorption and Desorption Processes

The following paper is aimed at finding the effects of ultrasound on adsorption/desorption processes. Experiments concerning the ultrasonic power input indicate that particles absorb ultrasonic energy effectively if they are in resonance with the ultrasound. The ultrasonic energy is dissipated into heat. Hence, desorption processes are promoted. Desorption experiments at different frequencies show that neither particle oscillations nor cavitation effects are responsible for ultrasonically enhanced desorption processes for an adsorption system with surface diffusion as the rate-limiting step. Measured ultrasonic power distributions show that the ultrasonic field inside the adsorber is very inhomogeneous. With the temperature distribution inside the adsorber, the courses of concentration of ultrasonically enhanced desorption experiments can be explained by a hot-water desorption model. Thus, simulations substantiate the experimental results that thermal effects are responsible for ultrasonically enhanced desorption with the applied adsorption system.