July 2000

Dear subscriber;

Welcome to the July PowerUltrasonics newsletter. I'm aiming to put out newsletters every six weeks or so or whenever I have some useful material! Please feel free to forward a copy to anyone else you think would be interested.

The main feature in this issue is an article kindly submitted by Linda McCausland of AEA Technology in the UK. If you would like to make your own contribution to a future issue, please e-mail it to me (chris@powerultrasonics.com). Provided it's relevant and contains something new and interesting (not just a sales pitch please!) I would be delighted to publish it.

~~~~~~~ AEA TECHNOLOGY SONOCRYSTALLIZER (TM) ~~~~~~~~~~~~

New Reactor to Improve Crystal Production in Pharmaceutical and Fine Chemical Industries

The AEA Technology Sonocrystallizer (TM) is a new reactor which helps the pharmaceutical, fine chemicals, and bio-technical products industries produce purer products through the production of better crystals. The Sonocrystallizer (TM) was developed and is now supplied by AEA Technology, the international science and engineering services business.

Sonocrystallization is a non-invasive method of using ultrasound to control the point of nucleation and the number of nuclei formed. Combining technologies of sonochemistry and crystallization sonocrystallization provides "a route to better crystals".

Benefits of sonocrystallization can include controlled initiation of nucleation, enhanced yield, improved crystal habit, improved filtration characteristics, improved product properties including, handling, bulk density and appearance, reduced agglomeration crystals with fewer imperfections and increased process reproducibility.

Sonocrystallization can be used to give a variety of desirable characteristics to high-value products. By using ultrasound to induce nucleation, crystal growth can be achieved in a more controlled manner at a lower supersaturation. Improved product size distribution and reduced agglomeration lead to fewer inclusions of impurities and a number of advantages in secondary processing and formulation.

This technology is particularly appropriate for pharmaceuticals and fine chemicals which are amongst the hardest materials to crystallize well because they tend to be high molecular weight organics. These molecules can be difficult to nucleate and often exhibit extreme crystal habits.

To support sales of the Sonocrystallizer (TM) AEA Technology has set up a team which offers a complete service of product screening, process development, scale-up and process equipment supply. A typical laboratory screening programme for a single compound can cost a little as £3,500 and can be performed on the customer's site if necessary.

Contact:
Linda McCausland,
Crystallization Operation Manager,
Hyprotech - AEA Technology
+ 44 (0) 1235 434035
Email: linda.mccausland@hyprotech.com
www.sonocrystallization.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~ POWERULTRASONICS IS MOVING! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Well, not really, but I am. Please note my new postal address:
Chris Cheers
PO Box 7240, Mannering Park, NSW 2259, Australia.

Phone, fax and mobile numbers remain the same for the time being: Phone / fax xx xxxx xxxx, mobile xxxx xxxxxx.

This is the first stage of my move from the big city (Sydney) to a quieter lifestyle on the New South Wales Central Coast. Unfortunately the house isn't built yet but I have a great garage there...!

~~~~~~~~~~~~ SCHEDULED DOWN-TIME ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The powerultrasonics web-site will be unavailable about three hours on Friday, July 21, 2000, starting 4:00 PM Eastern Time (9:00 PM GMT). I apologise for any inconvenience.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ NEW ARTICLES ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Two new entries on the articles page:

Sonocrystallization - A link to the AEA Technology sonocrystallization site (see above).

Ultrasonic washing of textiles - In development by the Fraunhofer Technology Center Florida and the Institute of Acoustic, Madrid, this process offers significant savings of energy and water usage.

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That's all for this time. Feedback is always welcome...

Chris Cheers (chris@powerultrasonics.com)