Hydrodynamic vortex cavitation
Spin liquid into a vortex and vapour bubbles form in the core, then collapse. That releases shear, heat and shockwaves into the whole stream. No transducers, no orifices. Just flow through a pipe that intensifies whatever comes after it.
Spin, grow, collapse
A Vivarta reactor takes pressurised liquid and forces it into a tight vortex. By conservation of angular momentum, the pressure at the core falls below the vapour pressure of the liquid, so it boils cold. Millions of micro-cavities form in the core and then collapse as the flow recovers pressure downstream.
- 1
Vortex formation
Engineered geometry converts inlet pressure into rotation. No narrow orifice to clog or erode.
- 2
Cavity nucleation
The low-pressure core nucleates vapour bubbles throughout the bulk liquid, not against a wall.
- 3
Energetic collapse
Downstream recovery collapses the cavities, releasing shear, heat, radicals and shockwaves into the process.
Cavitation distributed through the vortex core, not concentrated on a surface.
Built to run in real plants
Wide bore for slurries. Cavitation in the bulk, not on walls. Low energy to start. Geometry validated before you scale.
No small constrictions
A wide, open flow path handles slurries and suspended solids without clogging. No orifices to block or erode.
Cavitation away from walls
Collapse happens in the vortex core, not on surfaces, so there is no erosion, no contamination risk and a long working life.
Early inception
Cavitation starts at low energy input, giving a far lower specific energy requirement than orifice or rotor-stator devices.
Model-validated geometry
Reactor shape is designed with validated CFD, so performance scales predictably from the lab to full plant throughput.
IP licensed from CSIR-NCL (patents US 9,422,952 & US 9,725,338), validated in peer-reviewed publications. New mineral-processing IP in development at Vivarta.
- >50%
- Higher crystalliser productivity
- >100%
- Reduction in nucleation induction time
- Linear
- Scale-up by sizing the reactor to flow
Four forces, applied on demand
Each collapse is a brief burst of shear, heat and pressure in the bulk. That is what breaks down particles, strips scale and speeds up chemistry.
Intense local shear
Collapsing cavities create micro-jets and turbulence that tear apart flocs, cell walls and particle surfaces, boosting mass transfer and breakdown.
Hot-spot chemistry
Each implosion briefly reaches extreme local temperature and pressure, driving reactions and generating hydroxyl radicals that oxidise stubborn pollutants.
Shockwaves
Pressure waves radiate from every collapse, dislodging scale and keeping crystallisation surfaces clean without touching them mechanically.
Controlled nucleation
Micro-bubbles lower the activation energy for nucleation and boost solid-liquid mass transfer, giving finer emulsions, purer crystals and faster, more predictable phase changes.
Now generating nanobubbles
The same vortex physics that powers our commercial platform can be tuned to produce stable nanobubbles, bubbles so small they stay suspended for days instead of rising and bursting.
That means a large, persistent gas-liquid interface: far more area for gas to dissolve and react. Transport-limited processes (gas-liquid reactions, leaching, flotation, oxygenation, dissolution) without extra chemicals or pressure vessels. Still TRL 3, but central to what we’re building at Vivarta.
Large interfacial area
Orders-of-magnitude more gas-liquid contact per unit volume.
Long-lived
Nanobubbles persist in suspension rather than rising out.
Faster mass transfer
Overcomes the transport limits that throttle multiphase reactions.
Chemical-free
Generated by flow alone. No surfactants, no high-pressure rigs.
Vivarta vs ultrasound vs orifice devices
Power ultrasound is a proven way to fight fouling and intensify processes. Vivarta reaches the same goals hydrodynamically, across the whole flow, with nothing to wear out.
Drops into the plant you already run
No new digesters, no torn-out evaporators. Vivarta installs on a bypass loop and starts treating the stream.
Integration
Inline bypass loop, upstream of the process. No tank changes.
Footprint
Skid-mounted, commissioned without stopping the plant.
Throughput
Sized to your flow, from lab loops to full plant rates.
Maintenance
No internal wear parts; effort sits with the pump, not the reactor.
Questions engineers ask first
How is this different from power ultrasound?
Ultrasound generates cavitation by vibrating a surface, so the effect is strongest in a thin boundary near the transducer. Vivarta generates cavitation hydrodynamically across the entire vortex core, so the whole stream is treated as it flows, with no transducers to power, couple or replace.
Does it use chemicals?
No. The cavitation does the work mechanically. In many cases it lets plants reduce or remove scale inhibitors, oxidants and surfactants entirely.
Can it be retrofitted to an existing plant?
Yes. Vivarta installs as an inline unit on a bypass loop with isolation valves and a dedicated pump. The footprint is small, it can be skid-mounted, and commissioning does not require a shutdown.
What maintenance does the reactor need?
The reactor has no moving parts and collapse occurs in the liquid bulk rather than on surfaces, so there is no routine wear component. Maintenance is dominated by the feed pump and instrumentation.
Want the numbers for your stream?
Send feed analysis or a process description. We will estimate yield or fouling upside and outline a trial plan.