Limiting factors in acoustic separation of carbon particles in air

Particles suspended in a fluid that is exposed to an acoustic standing wave experience a time-averaged force that drives them to either the pressure nodes or anti-nodes of the wave. Several filter designs have been successfully implemented using this force to filter small particles in liquids with low flow rates and small cross-sectional areas. It has been suggested that the filtration of small solid particles out of a gas, such as carbon in air (smoke), would be a possible application of acoustic standing wave based particle separation. This study shows the limiting factors, in both power requirements and design factors, of an acoustic filter designed for filtering smoke particles across large cross-sectional areas. It is shown that while filtration is possible, the power needed is impractical. It is also shown that operating the filter within certain settling time parameters optimizes the energy usage of the filter.