Ultrasound techniques could provide better alternatives to conventional methods that add chemicals like chlorine to water to get rid of organic contaminants. It's very easy to use. It doesn't require highly trained operators. You just turn on a switch, the power starts transmitting through the solution, and your process begins. It's also a very robust system.
Ultrasonic systems operate under a wide variety of conditions.
They can tolerate large ranges in temperatures. Hua is working with engineering doctoral students at Purdue to investigate how to improve the performance of the reactors used in the ultrasound treatment of contaminated water. The reactor, a glass vessel containing about a liter of water, sits on top of a steel transducer, a speaker-like vibrating device that produces the ultrasound waves transmitted through the water. The research, which was funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, focused on using ultrasound to destroy a class of compounds known as polychlorinated biphenals, which are found in a variety of materials, including pesticides. The researchers found that the frequency of 358 kilohertz had the fastest reaction rate, meaning it degraded the compound faster than the other frequencies.