Large scale acoustic separation device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9744483-B2
Application number	US-201615249129-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 26, 2016
Priority date	Jul 2, 2014
Publication date	Aug 29, 2017
Grant date	Aug 29, 2017

Abstract

Devices for separating a host fluid from a second fluid or particulate are disclosed. The devices include an acoustic chamber, a fluid outlet at a top end of the acoustic chamber, a concentrate outlet at a bottom end of the acoustic chamber, and an inlet on a first side end of the acoustic chamber. An ultrasonic transducer and reflector create a multi-dimensional acoustic standing wave in the acoustic chamber that traps and separates particulates (e.g. cells) from a host fluid. The host fluid is collected via the fluid outlet, and the particulates are collected via the concentrate outlet. The device is a large-scale device that is able to process liters/hour, and has a large interior volume.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An acoustophoretic device, comprising:
an acoustic chamber that includes at least one inlet at a first end thereof;
at least one fluid outlet at a top end of the acoustophoretic device;
at least one concentrate outlet at a bottom end of the acoustophoretic device;
at least one ultrasonic transducer coupled to the acoustic chamber, the at least one ultrasonic transducer including a piezoelectric material configured to be driven by a voltage signal to create a multi-dimensional acoustic standing wave in the acoustic chamber; and
a reflector across the acoustic chamber from the at least one ultrasonic transducer;
wherein the acoustic chamber includes a plan cross-sectional area defined by a length and a width, and a side cross-sectional area defined by the width and a height, wherein the length is greater than or equal to the width, and wherein the plan cross-sectional area is greater than the side cross-sectional area.

2. The acoustophoretic device of claim 1 , wherein the at least one inlet is part of a dump diffuser.

3. The acoustophoretic device of claim 2 , wherein the at least one inlet includes a height that spans about 60% of a height of the piezoelectric material.

4. The acoustophoretic device of claim 2 , wherein a base of the at least one inlet is located along a base of the piezoelectric material.

5. The acoustophoretic device of claim 2 , wherein the dump diffuser includes at least one inlet flow port at an upper end of a plenum, and a flow outlet at a lower end of the plenum, the flow outlet being of a shape that provides a flow direction normal to an axial direction of the multi-dimensional acoustic standing wave generated by the at least one ultrasonic transducer.

6. The acoustophoretic device of claim 1 , wherein the at least one inlet includes a first inlet at the first end of the acoustic chamber and a second inlet at a second end of the acoustic chamber opposite the first end thereof, such that inflow of fluid into the acoustic chamber is uniform and symmetrical.

7. The acoustophoretic device of claim 1 , further comprising a first angled wall below the at least one inlet and leading to the at least one concentrate outlet, wherein the first angled wall includes an angle from about 11° to about 60° relative to a first horizontal plane.

8. The acoustophoretic device of claim 1 , wherein the at least one transducer is a plurality of transducers spanning the length of the acoustic chamber.

9. The acoustophoretic device of claim 8 , wherein the plurality of transducers are serially arranged in a single row.

10. The acoustophoretic device of claim 8 , wherein the plurality of transducers includes a first row containing at least two transducers located above a second row containing at least two transducers.

11. The acoustophoretic device of claim 1 , wherein the at least one concentrate outlet is a plurality of concentrate outlets.

12. The acoustophoretic device of claim 1 , wherein the acoustic chamber includes a volume of at least 40 cubic inches.

13. The acoustophoretic device of claim 1 , wherein an angled roof, a parabolically curved roof, or a hypocycloidally curved roof leads from the first end and a second end of the acoustic chamber to the at least one fluid outlet.

14. The acoustophoretic device of claim 1 , wherein the at least one fluid outlet is connected to a central area of the acoustic chamber.

15. The acoustophoretic device of claim 1 , wherein the multi-dimensional acoustic standing wave includes an axial force component and a lateral force component which are of the same order of magnitude.

16. The acoustophoretic device of claim 1 , wherein the at least one ultrasonic transducer comprises:
a housing that includes a top end, a bottom end, and an interior volume; and
a crystal at the bottom end of the housing with an exposed exterior surface and an interior surface, the crystal being able to vibrate when driven by a voltage signal.

17. The acoustophoretic device of claim 16 , wherein a backing layer contacts the interior surface of the crystal, the backing layer being made of a substantially acoustically transparent material.

18. The acoustophoretic device of claim 1 , wherein the multi-dimensional acoustic standing wave is a three-dimensional standing wave.

19. An acoustophoretic device, comprising:
an acoustic chamber that includes at least one inlet at a first end thereof;
at least one fluid outlet at a top end of the acoustophoretic device;
at least one concentrate outlet at a bottom end of the acoustophoretic device;
at least one ultrasonic transducer coupled to the acoustic chamber, the at least one ultrasonic transducer including a piezoelectric material configured to be driven by a voltage signal to create a multi-dimensional acoustic standing wave in the acoustic chamber; and
a reflector across the acoustic chamber from the at least one ultrasonic transducer;
wherein the at least one inlet is in the form of a dump diffuser that includes a flow outlet at a lower front end of a plenum, a first inlet flow port at an upper side end of the plenum, and a second inlet flow port at an upper rear end of the plenum.

20. A method for separating a secondary fluid or particulate from a mixture, comprising:
flowing a mixture of a primary fluid and the secondary fluid or particulate through an acoustophoretic device that comprises:
an acoustic chamber that includes at least one inlet at a first end thereof;
at least one fluid outlet at a top end of the acoustophoretic device;
at least one concentrate outlet at a bottom end of the acoustophoretic device;
at least one ultrasonic transducer coupled to the acoustic chamber, the at least one ultrasonic transducer including a piezoelectric material that is driven by a voltage signal to create a multi-dimensional acoustic standing wave in the acoustic chamber; and
a reflector across the acoustic chamber from the at least one ultrasonic transducer;
wherein the acoustic chamber includes a plan cross-sectional area defined by a length and a width, and a side cross-sectional area defined by the width and a height, wherein the length is greater than or equal to the width, and wherein the plan cross-sectional area is greater than the side cross-sectional area;

wherein the multi-dimensional acoustic standing wave traps and separates the secondary fluid or particulate from the primary fluid.

21. The method of claim 20 , wherein the mixture of the primary fluid and the secondary fluid or particulate is flowed through the acoustophoretic device at a rate of at least 25 m L/min.

Assignees

• Flodesign Sonics Inc

Inventors

• Lipkens Bart
• Presz Jr Walter M
• King Jeffrey
• Barnes Jason
• Mealey Dane
• Mccarthy Brian
• Ross-Johnsrud Ben
• Chitale Kedar

Classifications

• B01D21/0042

  Baffles or guide plates · CPC title

• C12M47/02

  Separating microorganisms from the culture medium; Concentration of biomass (separating microorganisms from their culture media C12N1/02) · CPC title

• B06B1/06

  operating with piezoelectric effect or with electrostriction (piezoelectric or electrostrictive devices per se H10N30/00) · CPC title

• B01D21/0045

  Plurality of essentially parallel plates · CPC title

• C02F1/36

  ultrasonic vibrations · CPC title