Transport analysis and model for the performance of an ultrasonically enhanced filtration process

This paper presents an analysis of a filtration technique that uses ultrasound to aid the collection of small particles (tens of microns in diameter) from suspension. In this method, particles are retained within a porous mesh that is subjected to a resonant ultrasonic field, even though the pore size of the mesh is two orders of magnitude greater than the particle diameter. The role of acoustic forces in driving the retention phenomena has previously been studied on a micro-scale, which included modeling and experimental verification of particle motion and trapping near a single element of the mesh. Here, we build on this work to develop an overall transport model to predict macroscopic performance criteria such as breakthrough times and the dynamics of the filtration performance. Results from this model compare favorably to experimental studies of the filtration phenomena; simulation results scale appropriately with experimental results in which inlet feed concentration and flow rate are varied.