The mechanical and physical effects of ultrasounds (US) have found many applications in several

indus- trial sectors such as chemical or biological industries, semi-conductor manufacturing and food
technologies. They are just as easily used in dewatering and drying materials, to enhance filtra- tion, assist
heat transfer, degas liquidsaccelerate, extraction processes, de- grade chemical contaminants in water
and to enhance many processes where diffusion takes place. The beneficial use of US is achieved through
its chemical effects on products, or mechanical and physical effects on processes. General applications in-
clude acceleration of chemical reactions, degradation of polymers, and polymerization reactions.
Ultrasonic physical effects and sonochemical effects are also used in membrane technology in order to
clean surfaces, to prevent formation of filter cake and to enhance filtration rates.

We noticed that membranes cleaned by means of an ordinary laboratory ultrasonic bath,

presented an unexpected behavior after irradiation. For this rea- son, we decided to investigate the effect
of ultrasonic irradiations on polymeric materials. The aim of this article is to study the effect of 47kHz
ultrasonic waves on polyethersulfone (PES), polyvinylidenefluo- ride (PVDF) and polyacrylonitrile (PAN)
membranes immersed in an aqueous bath. The evolution of mem- branes exposed to US irradiation was
followed by the measurement of the permeability to water and the porosity to thickness ratio (Ak/􏰀x). In
addition, microscopic imaging, using field emission electron scanning microscopy (FESEM), was performed
on the most damaged membranes in order to visualize the nature of the degradation and to analyze the
evolution of the pore density, porosity and pore size distribution.

In order to investigate the effect of ultrasonic waves, membranes are placed in a beaker immersed
in the ul- trasonic bath and filled with de-ionized water. The fre- quency of the ultrasonic waves is fixed
at 47 kHz. The total duration of the ultrasonic treatment is 2 h, divided as follows: three times 5 min, three
times 10 min, three times 15 min and finally 30 min. The determination of Lp and Ak /􏰀x values are realized
after each irradiation period in order to monitor the membrane parameters versus the total irradiation
time and the duration.

Comparing the values obtained for these two parameters, we can also notice that ultrasonic
waves have a more pronounced effect on the membrane surfaces per- meability (10–10 000%) than on
porosity (0–500%). Results also show that the degradation of the membrane surfaces under ultra- sonic
stress lead to an increase in pore radius for large pores, an overall increase in pore density and poro- sity
and to the formation of large cracks preferentially at the edges of the membrane samples. Any increase
in pore density, especially when large pores are con- cerned may favor the formation of cracks resulting
from the interconnection of neighboring pores. These large cracks will bring a large contribution to the in-
crease in permeability and porosity observed for most membranes. From these findings, it is clear that, in
spite of their great efficiency in enhancing permeation of fouled membranes, ultrasounds have to be used
with care. The nature of the polymeric material as well as the ul- trasonic wave frequency and intensity
have to be taken into account.

https://cyber.sci-hub.tw/MTAuMTAxNi9zMDM3Ni03Mzg4KDAwKTAwNTM0LTI=/masselin2001.pdf