Filtration of dispersed nanoparticles using cyclone and ultrasonic atomization

In order to overcome the limitation of conventional nanoparticle dispersion methods such as sonicator or homogenizer, a filtration method using an ultrasonic atomization effect and cyclones was proposed in this study. A 0.5 wt% suspension was made with Al2O3 powder with an average diameter of 250 nm. The suspension was filtered by the proposed method after pre-dispersing using a sonicator and a homogenizer, respectively. As the result, in the case of the suspension after pre-dispersing with a sonicator, the particle size distribution of the filtered suspension started showing up a single normal distribution indicating the mode of the average diameter only after the 3rd cyclone process. On the other hand, in the case of the suspension with the homogenizer pre-dispersion, similar results appeared from the 2nd cyclone process. Filtration of various types of nanoparticles is expected to be possible by adjusting ultrasonic atomization frequency and manipulating the design of the cyclone.