Why cavitation is useful in decontamination of sand and soil

Cavitation is a physical phenomenon, it occurs when flowing water or another liquid is subjected to rapid changes of pressure. Vapour bubbles form in lower pressure regions of the water/liquid, when these vapour bubbles enter regions of higher pressure, they collapse. These collapses release significant amounts of trapped energy and produce shock waves, which exert localised pressures reaching 9.65Mbar. The collapsing vapour bubbles also generate high velocity micro-jets of liquid (up to 3,000m/s), which impinge against hard particulates and surfaces in the immediate vicinity. In many situations cavitation can be highly destructive, damaging ships’ propellers, pumps, valves, pipes, etc. However, cavitation scrubbing systems harness these energy releases and shock waves to efficiently separate hydrocarbons and fine particulates from larger solids. For more information, see: http://www.globaladvantech.com/Decontamination/Decontamination.htm