The UIP1000hd from Hielscher Ultrasonics is a 1,000W ultrasonic processor designed for mixing, homogenising, dispersing, deagglomeration, emulsifying, disintegration and sonochemical applications.
It is suitable for emulsifying, dispersing and particle milling, lysis and extraction or homogenising in benchtop scale or for small production.
For the processing of batches larger than 5 litres, Hielscher recommends the customer sonicates using a flow cell reactor (flow mode) in order to obtain a better processing quality.
When used with a flow cell, the user can run larger samples in recirculation to establish the correlation between parameters, such as amplitude, pressure and liquid composition, and the process results and efficiency.
When used for the sonication of liquids in flow mode, the UIP1000hd can typically process between 0.5 and 4.0 litres per minute.
As the UIP1000hd is full industrial grade, it can be operated 24 hours per day.
The mixing of powders into liquids is a common step in the formulation of various products, such as paint, ink, cosmetics, beverages or polishing media.
The individual particles are held together by attraction forces of various physical and chemical natures, including van der Waals forces and liquid surface tension.
This effect is stronger for higher-viscosity liquids, such as polymers or resins.
The attraction forces must be overcome on order to deagglomerate and disperse the particles into liquid media.
Ultrasonic cavitation generates high shear that breaks particle agglomerates into single dispersed particles.
Especially for the processing and production of nano-size materials are ultrasonic processors such as the UIP1000hd.
Nano materials, such as carbon nanotubes (CNTs), metal oxides or nano clays, tend to agglomerate when mixed into a liquid.
The ultrasonic breakup of the agglomerate structures in aqueous and non-aqueous fluids allows utilising the full potential of nano-size materials.
Sonochemistry is the application of ultrasound to chemical reactions and processes.
The integration of ultrasound offers a potential method of enhancing the chemical catalysis rate.
The effects of sonication are largely generated by the ultrasonic cavitation in liquids.
Therefore, the ultrasound-assisted catalysis requires at least one reagent to be in liquid phase.
Cavitational erosion on particle surfaces generates unpassivated, highly reactive surfaces.
Short-lived high temperatures and pressures contribute to molecular decomposition and increase the reactivity of many chemical agents.
Ultrasonic irradiation can also be used to prepare the catalysts.
To achieve consistent results in particle size reduction, often a recirculating processing of the material is required.
Through this process, amorphous catalyst particles with a highly specific surface area can be produced.
Hielscher claims the UIP1000hd combines the flexibility and easy handling required in research and development with high performance in heavy-duty operation.
For this reason, this single device is used for lab scale feasibility testing, process optimisation and process demonstration for ultrasonic liquid processes.