Ultrasonic cleaning is a technique which originated back in the 1950s and has seen widespread use in medical and scientific laboratories, but the application of ultrasonic cleaning to industrial process equipment remains a relatively new technique which is still gaining headway in the North American markets. The challenges of upscaling the process of ultrasonic cleaning continues to push the development in this field to new innovative applications and advancement in the understanding of surface responsive techniques.
The development of chemical blends for ultrasonic chemical cleaning applications is a science unto its own. Ultrasonic cavitation provides an activation energy which disrupts the bonding of scale deposits with the surface of industrial equipment. The intensity of the cavitation relies on the formation and collapse of bubbles at the substrate surface. The surface tension of the chemical must be considered in order to provide an effective cavitation media, as does the dynamic contact angles of the chemical blend with the substrate to ensure effective wetting of the deposit. Furthermore, the chemistry itself must be compatible with the deposit to gain the synergistic influence of combining the chemical and mechanical techniques.
A discussion on the development of ultrasonic chemical cleaning blends is presented. A consideration on the requirement for oxidative corrosion control is also conferred. Finally, an examination of variances observed in the progression from laboratory testing to field studies is considered to complete this review.