It has been recognised for many years that power ultrasound has great potential for uses in a wide variety of processes in the chemical and allied industries. Reported applications include cleaning, sterilisation, flotation, drying, degassing, defoaming, soldering, plastic welding, drilling, filtration, homogenisation, emulsification, dissolution, deaggregation of powder, biological cell disruption, extraction, crystallisation and, more recently, as a stimulus for chemical reactions. With the increasing use of power ultrasound in chemistry comes the need for specialist text books covering this emerging discipline. This book is suitable for chemists and chemical engineers at all levels who wish to gain a rapid insight into what is becoming a standard method in the chemical laboratory. It is designed to answer the following questions: What is sonochemistry? Why is it important? What systems are affected by sonochemistry? What are the major applications of this technique? What types of ultrasonic equipment are available? How do the different types of equipment compare? How is the equipment best configured for chemical applications? What parameters can be changed to optimise sonochemical results? What equipment is available for the scale-up of sonochemistry?
