Ethanol separation from ethanol-water solution by ultrasonic atomization and its proposed mechanism based on parametric decay instability of capillary wave

We show the experimental data of selective ethanol separation from ethanol-water solution, using ultrasonic atomization. Pure ethanol could be obtained directly from a solution with several mol% ethanol-water solution at 10 degreesC. This result can be explained in terms of parametric decay instability of capillary wave, in which high localization and accumulation of acoustic energy occur, leading to ultrasonic atomization. That is, parametric decay instability condenses the energy of longitudinal waves in a highly localized surface area of the capillary wave, and causes ultrasonic atomization. (C) 2001 American Institute of Physics.