Patent ID: 6841095

Claim:
A method of performing a chemical reaction between a first material and a reagent, the reaction being carried out between the first material in particulate form and a liquid that comprises the reagent, one reaction product being a solid material that tends to form a coating that suppresses the reaction, the method comprising contacting the first material and the reagent in a plant, the plant comprising at least one reaction vessel with a plurality of ultrasonic transducers attached to a wall of the vessel so as to irradiate ultrasonic waves into the vessel, the vessel being large enough that each transducer irradiates into fluid at least 0.1 m thick, each transducer irradiating no more than 3 W/cm 2 , and the transducers being sufficiently close to each other and the number of transducers being sufficiently high that the power dissipation within the vessel is at least 10 W/liter but no more than 200 W/liter, stirring the contents of the reaction vessel, and energizing the transducers.