High-Temperature Ultrasonic Transducer Array System for Particulate Agglomeration in Molten Salt Solutions

High-temperature molten salt solutions are a valuable medium for heat transfer and storage in advanced nuclear reactors and other high-temperature systems. However, insoluble oxides and metallic particulates can accumulate within the molten salt during synthesis, operation, and post-operation treatment, leading to performance degradation. Current filtration techniques, such as mesh or screen filtration and centrifugal separation, struggle to capture particles smaller than 5 microns. These limitations contribute to inefficiencies, increased maintenance costs, and reduced system reliability. To address the DOE’s need for improved filtration in molten salt solutions, X-wave Innovations, Inc. (XII) proposes a high-temperature ultrasonic transducer array (HTUTA) system specifically designed to agglomerate fine particles for improved collection. Ultrasonic agglomeration offers a promising solution by using acoustic waves to cluster fine particles, making them easier to capture through conventional filtration systems. The proposed HTUTA leverages high-frequency standing wave fields to apply acoustic forces that drive fine metallic and oxide particles to pressure nodes, promoting their agglomeration into collectable clusters. This innovative approach avoids ultrasonic cavitation, commonly associated with deagglomeration, by operating at carefully calibrated frequencies and power levels optimized for agglomeration In Phase I, X-Wave Innovations (XII) will design and develop a HTUTA prototype, focusing on characterizing its efficiency in agglomerating particulates and improving filtration performance. Our Phase I efforts will focus on the design and demonstration of a prototype HTUTA system, modelling the agglomeration process to finetune optimal frequency and power levels for the transducers, evaluating our system through a mock test-setup using solutions of similar characteristics to molten salt, demonstrating the effectiveness of our proposed solution through image analysis of filtering results, and modelling the agglomeration system’s effectiveness in actual high temperature molten salt applications. The proposed HTUTA system enhances filtration efficiency in molten salt solutions, improving overall system performance. While primarily designed for high-temperature applications like nuclear reactors, HTUTA is versatile and can agglomerate particles in various liquid mediums. Its key advantage lies in the ability to optimize frequency and power output based on the specific solution, making it adaptable for a wide range of filtration applications.