Acoustophoresis For Pulp Separation

In pulp and paper mills, efficient techniques are required to remove accumulating solid suspensions in order to optimize raw material usage and closing up water systems due to environmental regulations. As a novel approach to solid removal, an ultrasonic method to clarify a white-water stream appears promising. For white-water stream clarification, the idea is to apply a normal force on flowing fibers using radiation force coming from an ultrasonic wave field (acoustophoresis), for the purpose of migrating the fibers and thus increasing the consistency of the pulp stream. This project aims at determining the optimal configuration for feasible pulp manipulation in industrial environment. After a brief bibliography, both numerical and experimental methodologies will be developed in order to derive the optimal transducer configuration. TO BE CONT’D

Faculty Supervisor:

Nicolas Quaegebeur

Student:

Partner:

GL&V Canada

Discipline:

Engineering

Sector:

Manufacturing

University:

Université de Sherbrooke

Program: