The fragmentation of a liquid layer to form a fine droplet mist by high frequency ultrasonic atomization of liquids has been applied to a range of industrial applications such as fine chemical manufacturing,pharmaceutical production,and food processing.A recent development is the separation of alcohol from miscible alcohol-water mixtures using ultrasonic atomization.In this work,the effect of high frequency ultrasonic atomization at 1.6 MHz on the enrichment of ethanol from ethanol-water feed mixtures has been studied.Experiments for evaluating this enrichment process were conducted in batch and continuous feed processing systems.The continuous enrichment process generated product concentrations that were higher than the equivalent vapor-liquid equilibrium curve at feed concentrations greater than 40 mol.-% in a single stage.The role of the ultrasonic jet formed at the surface of the feed solution combined with the ethanol separation characteristics has been discussed.
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