Feasibility and Advantages of Continuous Synthesis of Bioinspired Silica Using CO2 as an Acidifying Agent.

In this work, we present a method for the continuous synthesis of bioinspired porous silica (BIS) particles using carbon dioxide (CO2) as an acidifying agent. Typical BIS synthesis uses strong mineral acids (e.g., HCl) to initiate the hydrolysis and subsequent condensation reactions. The use of strong acids leads to challenges in controlling the reaction pH. The synthesis approach proposed in this work offers for the first time CO2 as an attractive alternative for the synthesis of BIS and demonstrates the continuous process. The developed method leverages the mild acidic and the self-buffering nature of the CO2 combined with additional options for controlling mass transfer rates to facilitate enhanced control of pH, which is crucial for controlling the properties of synthesized BIS. Proof of concept experiments conducted in continuous mode demonstrated a yield of over 70% and a surface area exceeding 500 m2/g. These results indicate the successful synthesis of BIS using CO2 with properties in the desired range. The enhanced pH control offered by this CO2-based process will facilitate the implementation of a sustainable and robust continuous process for BIS synthesis.

Dense Oil in Water Emulsions using Vortex-Based Hydrodynamic Cavitation: Effective Viscosity, Sauter Mean Diameter, and Droplet Size Distribution.

Vortex-based hydrodynamic cavitation offers an effective platform for producing emulsions. In this work, we have investigated characteristics of dense oil in water emulsions with oil volume fractions up to 60% produced using a vortex-based cavitation device. Emulsions were prepared using rapeseed oil with oil volume fractions of 0.15, 0.3, 0.45, and 0.6. For each of these volume fractions, the pressure drop as a function of the flow rate of emulsions through the cavitation device was measured. These data were used for estimating the effective viscosity of the emulsions. The droplet size distribution of the emulsions was measured using the laser diffraction technique. The influence of the number of passes through the cavitation device on droplet size distributions and the Sauter mean diameter was quantified. It was found that the Sauter mean diameter (d32) decreases with an increase in the number of passes as n-0.2. The Sauter mean diameter was found to be almost independent of oil volume fraction (αo) up to a certain critical volume fraction (αoc). Beyond αoc, d32 was found to be linearly proportional to a further increase in oil volume fraction. As expected, the turbidity of the produced emulsions was found to be linearly proportional to the oil volume fraction. The slope of turbidity versus oil volume fraction can be used to estimate the Sauter mean diameter. A suitable correlation was developed to relate turbidity, volume fraction, and Sauter mean diameter. The droplet breakage efficiency of the vortex-based cavitation device for dense oil in water emulsions was quantified and reported. The breakage efficiency was found to increase linearly with an increase in oil volume fraction up to αoc and then plateau with a further increase in the oil volume fraction. The breakage efficiency was found to decrease with an increase in energy consumption per unit mass (E) as E-0.8. The presented results demonstrate the effectiveness of a vortex-based cavitation device for producing dense oil in water emulsions and will be useful for extending its applications to other dense emulsions.

Degradation of methyl orange using hydrodynamic Cavitation, H2O2, and photo-catalysis with TiO2-Coated glass Fibers: Key operating parameters and synergistic effects.

Advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) are eco-friendly, and promising technology for treating dye containing wastewater. This study focuses on investigating the removal of methyl orange (MO), an azo dye, from a synthetic wastewater through the use of hydrodynamic cavitation (HC), both independently and in combination with hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), as an external oxidant, as well as photocatalysis (PC) employing catalyst coated on glass fibers tissue (GFT). The examination of various operating parameters, including the pressure drop and the concentration of H2O2, was systematically conducted to optimize the degradation of MO. A per-pass degradation modelwas used to interpret and describe the experimental data. The data revealed that exclusive employment of HC using a vortex-based cavitation device at 1.5 bar pressure drop, resulted in a degradation exceeding 96 % after 100 passes, equivalent to 230 min of treatment (cavitation yield of 3.6 mg/kJ for HC), with a COD mineralization surpassing 12 %. The presence of a small amount of H2O2 (0.01 %) significantly reduced the degradation time from 230 min to 36 min (16 passes), achieving a degradation of 99.8 % (cavitation yield of 6.77 mg/kJ for HC) with COD mineralization rate twice as much as HC alone, indicating a synergistic effect of 4.8. The degradation time was further reduced to 21 min by combining HC with PC using TiO2-coated glass fibers and H2O2, (cavitation yield of 11.83 mg/kJ for HC), resulting in an impressive synergistic effect of 9.2 and COD mineralization twice as high as the HC/H2O2 system. The results demonstrate that HC based hybrid AOPs can be very effective for treating and mineralizing azo dyes in water.

Novel Machine Learning-Based Method for Estimation of the Surface Area of Porous Silica Particles.

This work reports a novel and quick method to estimate the surface area of porous materials. Conventionally, surface area measurement requires the BET method/N2 adsorption experiment which is time-consuming. In this work, we developed a method based on machine learning (ML) and the adsorption of a conductive dye on porous materials. The rate and quantity of dye adsorption, which is characterized by dynamic measurement of conductivity, provide an indirect measure of surface area and zeta potential. An ML-based soft sensor is developed to relate the measured conductivity profiles with surface area and zeta potential. A phenomenological model on dye adsorption is also developed, validated, and used to augment experimental data for training the soft sensor. The developed method was tested for porous silica particles with a range of surface areas (250-1100 m2/g) and zeta potential (-17 mV: -29 mV). The developed soft sensor was able to estimate the surface area and zeta potential quite well. The developed approach and method reduce overall measurement time for surface area from several hours to a few minutes. The method can potentially be implemented in continuous plants producing porous materials like silica.

Design of vortex-based cavitation devices/reactors: Influence of aspect ratio, number of inlets and shape.

Vortex-based hydrodynamic cavitation devices are being used in a wide range of applications. However, adequate information on the design of such devices is not available. In this work, we have computationally investigated the influence of key design parameters such as the aspect ratio of the vortex chamber, the number of tangential inlets and the shape of the device on resulting flow characteristics and cavitation. Experiments were carried out to validate key findings from the computational studies. These investigations revealed that the aspect ratio of the vortex chamber as six may be considered as optimum. The performance of single and multiple inlet devices was found to be comparable at the same pressure drop (that is at same energy consumption per m3). Scale-up with a geometric similarity led to a reduction in the extent of cavitation for same energy consumption per m3. For facilitating scale-out option, an attempt was made to simplify the configuration of the vortex-based cavitation device. Computational results indicated that the cavitation performance of simplified configuration was not significantly inferior. A case of the formation of liquid-liquid emulsion was taken as a test case for evaluation of a modified cavitation device based on the present investigations. The droplet size distributions of emulsions generated by both the devices indicate that the proposed simplified configuration, which may facilitate fabrication and offer integrated scale-out options, performs almost at par with a complex configuration. The presented results will be useful for optimising designs of vortex-based hydrodynamic cavitation devices/ reactors.

Emulsions Using a Vortex-Based Cavitation Device: Influence of Number of Passes, Pressure Drop, and Device Scale on Droplet Size Distributions.

Liquid-liquid emulsions are used in a variety of industry sectors, including personal care, home care, food, and nutrition. The development of compact and modular systems and devices for creating emulsions with desired droplet size distribution (DSD) is becoming increasingly important. In this work, we have shown use of vortex-based cavitation devices for producing emulsions at nominal flow rate of 1 LPM and 20 LPM. We present new experimental results providing quantitative information on influence of multiple passes through the vortex based hydrodynamic cavitation (HC) device, type of oil and device scale on the breakage process and resulting DSDs. Multiple pass experiments were performed for generating oil-in-water emulsions containing 5 and 15% of oil. Rapeseed oil (RO) and tetrachloroethylene (TCE) were used as oil phases with densities of 915 and 1620 kg/m3, respectively. The effect of pressure drop across the HC device in the range of 50-250 kPa on DSD was examined. The HC device was shown to exhibit significant higher efficiency compared to alternative emulsion making devices (i.e., homogenizers, venturi, and orifice-based HC devices), and the Sauter mean drop size was found to reduce from 66 µm to less than 2 µm after about 50 passes in all the device scales. The DSD of the RO-water system showed a bimodal nature, whereas monomodal DSD was found for TCE-water system. Preliminary simulations using the computational fluid dynamics-population balance model (CFD-PBM) models developed in the previous work indicated the inadequacy of developed models to capture the influence of cavitation on DSDs. By carrying out Hinze scale analysis of bimodal DSD, we for the first time showed the existence of two different mechanisms (one based on conventional turbulent shear and the other based on collapsing cavities) of droplet breakage in HC devices. The order of magnitude of turbulence energy dissipation rates generated due to collapsing cavity estimated using Hinze scale analysis showed good agreement with the values reported from cavity dynamics models. The presented experimental results and analysis will be useful for researchers and engineers interested in developing computational models and compact devices for producing emulsions of the desired DSD.

Enhancement of biomethane potential of brown sludge by pre-treatment using vortex based hydrodynamic cavitation.

Novel, non-thermal and economically benign pre-treatment process was developed for enhancing valorisation potential of brown sludge generated by dairy industry wastewater treatment plant (WWTP). Vortex-based hydrodynamic cavitation (HC) device was used to quantify influence of pretreatment by measuring biomethane potential (BMP) of untreated and treated brown sludge. Pre-treatment parameters, primarily, pressure drop and number of passes through the cavitation device were varied to quantify influence on BMP. BMP tests were performed at 39 °C containing 5% of total solids in each reactors using an automatic BMP measurement system containing 15 reactors with each volume of 500 mL fitted with overhead stirrer. HC treatment increased the soluble chemical oxygen demand (sCOD) by more than 25% which increased the BMP. HC treatment was able to push the BMP of treated sludge to more than 80% of the theoretical BMP. Volatile solids (VS) removal was more than 65%. Highest methane yield was 376 mL/g-VS of sludge. The methodology and results presented here show significant potential to valorise brown dairy sludge via vortex based hydrodynamic cavitation.

Flow physics of planar bistable fluidic oscillator with backflow limbs.

Fluidic oscillators (FOs) are used in a variety of applications, including process control and process intensification. Despite the simple design and operation of FOs, the fluid dynamics of FOs exhibit rich complexities. The inherently unstable flow, jet oscillations, and resulting vortices influence mixing and other transport processes. In this work, we computationally investigated the fluid dynamics of a new design of a planar FO with backflow limbs. The design comprised of two symmetric backflow limbs leading to bistable flow. The unsteady flow dynamics, internal recirculation, jet oscillations, secondary flow vortices were computationally studied over a range of inlet Reynolds numbers (2400-12,000). The nature and frequency of the jet oscillations were quantified. The computed jet oscillation frequency was compared with the experimentally measured (using imaging techniques) jet oscillation frequency. The flow model was then used to quantitatively understand mixing, heat transfer, and residence time distribution. The approach and the results presented in this work will provide a basis for designing FO's with desired flow and transport characteristics for various engineering applications.

Oxidation of Sulphur pollutants in model and real fuels using hydrodynamic cavitation.

Hydrodynamic Cavitation (HC) offers an attractive platform for intensifying oxidative desulphurization of fuels. In the first part of this work, we present new results on oxidising single ring thiophene in a model fuel over the extended range of volume fraction of organic phase from 2.5 to 80 v/v %. We also present influence of type and scale of HC device on performance of oxidative desulphurization. Further experiments revealed that oxidising radicals generated in-situ by HC alone were not able to oxidise dual ring thiophenes. External catalyst (formic acid) and oxidising agents (hydrogen peroxide, H2O2) were therefore used with HC. Based on our prior work with acoustic cavitation (AC), the volumetric ratios for H2O2 and formic acid were identified as 0.95 v/v % and 6.25 v/v % respectively. The data of oxidation of dual ring thiophenes with n-dodecane and n-hexane as model fuels and typical transport fuels (diesel, kerosene, and petrol) using these oxidant and catalyst is presented. The observed performance with HC was compared with results obtained from a stirred tank and AC set-up. The presented data indicates that HC is able to intensify oxidation of sulphur species. The presented results provide a sound basis for further developments on HC based oxidative desulphurization processes.

Intensifying extraction of biomolecules from macroalgae using vortex based hydrodynamic cavitation device.

Macroalgae have a tremendous potential to become an important renewable resource for valuable biomolecules and chemicals. New and improved ways of cell disruption and of enhancing rate as well as yield of extraction of valuable products from macroalgae are needed to fully realise this potential. In this work, hydrodynamic cavitation (HC) was used for intensifying rate and yield of extraction of phycoerythrin, proteins and carbohydrates from marine macroalgae Palmaria palmata. We use vortex-based HC devices which do not use small restrictions like orifice-based HC devices or moving parts like rotor-stator based HC devices. A bench scale setup with a nominal slurry flow rate of 20 LPM was established. Dried and powdered macroalgae was used. Influence of key operating parameters like pressure drop and number of passes on extraction performance (the rate and yield) was measured. A simple, yet effective model was developed and used for interpreting and describing experimental data. The results indicate that there exists an optimum pressure drop across the device at which extraction performance is maximum. The extraction performance with HC was found to be significantly better than the stirred vessels. HC has resulted in 2 to 20 times improvement in the rate of extraction of phycoerythrin (R-PE), proteins and carbohydrates. Based on the results obtained in this work, pressure drop of 200 kPa and number of passes through the HC devices of about 100 were found to be most effective for HC-assisted intensified extraction from macroalgae. The presented results and model will be useful for harnessing vortex-based HC devices for intensifying the extraction of valuable products from macroalgae.

Solvent Free Upgrading of 5-Hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) with Levulinic Acid to HMF Levulinate Using Tin Exchanged Tungstophosphoric Acid Supported on K-10 Catalyst.

The manufacture of high-value products from biomass derived platform chemicals is becoming an integral part of the biorefinery industry. In this study, we demonstrate a green catalytic process using solvent free conditions for the synthesis of hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) levulinate from HMF and levulinic acid (LA) over tin exchanged tungstophosphoric acid (DTP) supported on K-10 (montmorillonite K-10 clay) as the catalyst. The structural properties of solid acid catalysts were characterized by using XRD, FT-IR, UV-vis, titration, and SEM techniques. Partial exchange of the H+ of DTP with Sn (x = 1) resulted in enhanced acidity of the catalyst and showed an increase in the catalytic activity as compared to the unsubstituted DTP/K-10 as the catalyst. The effects of different reaction parameters were studied and optimized to get high yields of HMF levulinate. The kinetic model was developed by considering the Langmuir-Hinshelwood-Hougen-Watson (LHHW) mechanism, and the activation energy was calculated to be 41.2 kJ mol-1. The prepared catalysts were easily recycled up to four times without any noticeable loss of activity, and hot filtration test indicated the heterogeneous nature of the catalytic activity. The overall process is environmentally benign and suitable for easy scale up.

ANN based surrogate model for key Physico-chemical effects of cavitation.

Intense and localised physico-chemical effects realised by cavitation such as generation of hydroxyl radicals, high-speed jets, and very high energy dissipation rates are being harnessed for a wide range of applications from emulsions, crystallisation, reactions to water treatment and waste valorisation. Single cavity models are typically used to quantitatively estimate such localised effects of cavity collapse. However, these models demand significant computing resources for resolving fast dynamics and therefore are very difficult, if not impossible, to integrate with CFD based cavitation device or reactor scale models. This severely limits the utility of device/ reactor scale models in simulating key applications of interest. In this work, we present, for the first time, artificial neural network (ANN) based surrogate models which accurately represent complex physico-chemical effects of cavity collapse. Recently developed cavity dynamics model was used for generating training data set encompassing both acoustic and hydrodynamic cavitation. Appropriate methodology for training ANN was developed. A shallow three hidden layer dense ANN was found to be more effective for estimating three main effects of cavity collapse: jet velocity, •OH generation and localised energy dissipation rate. The performance of trained ANN was then evaluated by comparing the predictions with the totally unseen data obtained from the cavity dynamics model. The developed ANN was shown to simulate unseen data very well not just within the range of training data (interpolation) but also beyond (extrapolation). Algebraic equations representing ANN are included to facilitate incorporation in device/ reactor scale CFD models. The presented methodology and results will be useful for developing high-fidelity CFD models of cavitation devices/ reactors based on key physico-chemical effects of cavity collapse.

Modeling of Hydrodynamic Cavitation Reactors: Reflections on Present Status and Path Forward.

Hydrodynamic cavitation (HC) is finding ever increasing applications in water, energy, chemicals, and materials sectors. HC generates intense shear, localized hot spots, and hydroxyl radicals, which are harnessed for realizing desired physicochemical transformations. Despite identification of HC as one of the most promising technology platforms, its potential is not yet adequately translated in practice. Lack of appropriate models for design, optimization, and scale-up of HC reactors is one of the primary reasons for this. In this work, the current status of modeling of HC reactors is presented. Various prevailing approaches covering empirical, phenomenological, and multiscale models are critically reviewed in light of personal experience of their application. Use of these approaches for different applications such as biomass pretreatment and wastewater treatment is briefly discussed. Some comments on extending these models for other applications like emulsions and crystallization are included. The presented models and discussion will be useful for practicing engineers and scientists interested in applying HC for a variety of applications. Some thoughts on further advances in modeling of HC reactors and outlook are shared, which may stimulate further research on improving the fidelity of computational models of HC reactors.

Quantifying OH radical generation in hydrodynamic cavitation via coumarin dosimetry: Influence of operating parameters and cavitation devices.

Hydrodynamic cavitation (HC) has been extensively investigated for effluent treatment applications. Performance of HC devices or processes is often reported in terms of degradation of organic pollutants rather than quantification of hydroxyl (OH) radicals. In this study, generation of OH radicals in vortex based cavitation device using coumarin dosimetry was quantified. Coumarin was used as the chemical probe with an initial concentration of 100 µM (15 ppm). Generation of OH radicals was quantified by analysing generated single hydroxylated products. The influence of operating parameters such as pH and type of acid used to adjust pH, dissolved oxygen, and inlet and outlet pressures was investigated. Acidic pH was found to be more conducive for generating OH radicals and therefore subsequent experiments were performed at pH of 3. Sulphuric acid was found to be more than three times effective than hydrochloric acid in generating OH radicals. Effect of initial levels of dissolved oxygen was found to influence OH radical generation. Performance of vortex based cavitation device was then compared with other commonly used cavitation devices based on orifice and venturi. The vortex based cavitation device was found to outperform the orifice and venturi based devices in terms of initial per-pass factor. Influence of device scale (nominal flow rate through the device) on performance was then evaluated. The results presented for these devices unambiguously quantifies their cavitational performance. The presented results will be useful for evaluating computational models and stimulate further development of predictive computational models in this challenging area.

Removal of single and dual ring thiophene's from dodecane using cavitation based processes.

Utilising cavitation for enhancing oxidative desulphurization has been investigated for nearly-two decades with recent investigations shifting focus from low-capacity acoustic cavitation (AC) to scalable hydrodynamic cavitation (HC). This work focuses on developing a viable means for removing thiophene's from fuels. In the first phase of this work, use of vortex based HC devices for removal of single and dual ring thiophenes from dodecane was investigated. HC was shown to be able to remove single ring thiophene from dodecane without using any external catalyst or additives. However, in absence of catalyst or additives, it was not possible to remove dual ring thiophenes such as dibenzothiophene using HC. Therefore, in the second phase of this work, various strategies based on use of catalyst or additives to augment cavitation based process were investigated. AC based experiments were opted for shortlisting suitable catalysts and additives for intensifying cavitation based processes. The influence of using oxidant (H2O2) and carboxylic acid catalysts on efficacy of removal of dual ring thiophenes is presented. Several conditions were tested, and the optimal volumetric ratios of 0.95 v/v % H2O2 and 6.25 v/v % HCOOH was identified and utilised throughout the remainder of the study. Regeneration of extractant which accumulates oxidised sulphur species from dodecane was also investigated using AC. The additives and process conditions reported in this work are useful for enhancing desulphurization performance.

Pretreatment of milled and unchopped sugarcane bagasse with vortex based hydrodynamic cavitation for enhanced biogas production.

Anaerobic digestion can potentially valorise sugarcane bagasse to biogas and fertiliser. Pretreatment is however required to overcome recalcitrance and enhance the biogas yields. Literature reporting the investigation of various biomass pretreatments often use milled biomass as substrate rather than as-received fibrous biomass. This does not establish the true influence of the pretreatment type on biogas generation. Additionally, milling energy is also ignored when calculating net energy gains from enhanced biogas yields and are thus misleading. In this work, a vortex-based hydrodynamic cavitation device was used to enhance the biomethane yields from fibrous as-received biomass for the first time. Clear justification on why milled biomass must not be used as substrates for demonstrating the effect of pretreatment on biogas production is also discussed. The net energy gain from milled hydrodynamic cavitation pre-treated bagasse can be similar to as-received bagasse only when the specific milling energy is ≤700 kWh/ton.

Estimation of chemical and physical effects of cavitation by analysis of cavitating single bubble dynamics.

Cavitation events create extreme conditions in a localized 'bubble collapse' region, leading to the formation of hydroxyl radicals, shockwaves and microscopic high-speed jets, which are useful for many chemical and physical transformation processes. Single bubble dynamics equations have been used previously to investigate the chemical and physical effects of cavitation. In the present study, the state of the art of the single bubble dynamics equations was reviewed and certain noteworthy modifications were implemented. Simulations reaffirmed previously reported collapse temperatures of the order ~5,000 K and collapse pressures well over ~1,000 bar under varying operating conditions. The chemical effects were assessed in terms of the hydroxyl radical generation rate (OHG), calculated by applying the minimization of the Gibb's Free Energy method using simulated collapse conditions. OHG values as high as 1x1012OH molecules per collapse event were found under certain operating conditions. A new equation was proposed to assess the physical effects, in terms of the impact pressure of the water jet - termed as the jet hammer pressure (JHP), formed due to the asymmetrical collapse of a bubble near a wall. The predicted JHP were found to be within a range of ~100 to 1000 bar under varying operating conditions. Important issues such as the onset of cavitation and chaotic solutions, for a cavitating single bubble dynamics were discussed. The Blake threshold pressure was found to be a sufficient criterion to capture the onset of cavitation. The impact of key operating parameters on the chemical and physical effects of cavitation were investigated exhaustively through simulations, over the parameter ranges relevant to acoustic and hydrodynamic cavitation processes. Presented methodology and results will be useful for optimisation and further investigations of a broad range of acoustic and hydrodynamic cavitation-based applications.

A simplified model for simulating anaerobic digesters: Application to valorisation of bagasse and distillery spent wash.

Current anaerobic digestion (AD) design methods rely on crude empirical models or sophisticated anaerobic digestion models (like ADM1) requiring a large number of parameters which are difficult to obtain experimentally. A simplified model for simulating AD was developed in this work. The model requires knowledge of CH4/CO2 ratio in biogas or indigestible fraction in substrate and batch biomethane potential (BMP) data for estimating three kinetic parameters (maximum specific growth rate, half velocity constant and cell death rate). Reported lab scale BMP data of sugarcane bagasse and spent wash were used to first estimate the kinetics and then to simulate corresponding largescale AD. Simulated results of specific methane yield and digester performance were consistent with available largescale AD data. The potential of the model to simulate single and multi-stage AD were illustrated. The presented approach and model will be useful for effectively valorising a variety of complex biomass substrates to biogas.

ANN based modelling of hydrodynamic cavitation processes: Biomass pre-treatment and wastewater treatment.

We have developed artificial neural network (ANN) based models for simulating two application examples of hydrodynamic cavitation (HC) namely, biomass pre-treatment to enhance biogas and degradation of organic pollutants in water. The first case reports data on influence of number of passes through HC reactor on bio-methane generation from bagasse. The second case reports data on influence of HC reactor scale on degradation of dichloroaniline (DCA). Similar to most of the HC based applications, the availability of experimental data for these two applications is rather limited. In this work a systematic methodology for developing ANN model is presented. The models were shown to describe the experimental data very well. The ANN models were then evaluated for their ability to interpolate and extrapolate. Despite the limited data, the ANN models were able to simulate and interpolate the data for two very different and complex HC applications very well. The extrapolated results of biomethane generation in terms of number of passes were consistent with the intuitive understanding. The extrapolated results in terms of elapsed time were however not consistent with the intuitive understanding. The ANN model was able to generate intuitively consistent extrapolated results for degradation of DCA in terms of number of passes as well as scale of HC reactor. The results will be useful for developing quantitative models of complex HC applications.

Scale-up of vortex based hydrodynamic cavitation devices: A case of degradation of di-chloro aniline in water.

Hydrodynamic cavitation (HC) is being increasingly used in a wide range of applications. Unlike ultrasonic cavitation, HC is scalable and has been used at large scale industrial applications. However, no information about influence of scale on performance of HC is available in the open literature. In this work, we present for the first time, experimental data on use of HC for degradation of complex organic pollutants in water on four different scales (~200 times scale-up in terms of capacity). Vortex based HC devices offer various advantages like early inception, high cavitational yield and significantly lower propensity to clogging and erosion. We have used vortex based HC devices in this work. 2,4 dichloroaniline (DCA) - an aromatic compound with multiple functional groups was considered as a model pollutant. Degradation of DCA in water was performed using vortex-based HC devices with characteristic throat dimension, dt as 3, 6, 12 and 38 mm with scale-up of almost 200 time based on the flow rates (1.3 to 247 LPM). Considering the experimental constraints on operating the largest scale HC device, the experimental data is presented here at only one value of pressure drop across HC device (280 kPa). A previously used per-pass degradation model was extended to describe the experimental data for the pollutant used in this study and a generalised form is presented. The degradation performance was found to decrease with increase in the scale and then plateaus. Appropriate correlation was developed based on the experimental data. The developed approach and presented results provide a sound basis and a data set for further development of comprehensive multi-scale modelling of HC devices.