Chapter 4 - Fundamentals and applications of nanobubbles

Abstract

Abstract Attractive technologies such as separation processes, oil exploitation and refining, flotation, mixing processes, wastewater treatment, surface cleaning, nanomaterials in nanotechnology, agronomy, etc. request new tools for increasing their effectiveness. The idea to see deepest what in real happen in the nanolevel of the liquid and colloid systems opened a new field in the area of the physicochemical science. This new field spreads out from the investigation of the nanobubble (NB) creation mechanisms to the study of their properties and the potential applications, from the plants' growth to the medicine. It is not an occasional fact that during the last years the number of the published papers regarding the NB technology increased remarkably. In this chapter gives a general overview regarding the history, the production methods/generators, and the potential applications of the NBs. Particularly, a historical issue from earliest experiments, where the existence of NBs was proved, is described. Following, the issues of the bulk and interface NB production and the information regarding their stability are covered. The properties of NBs are also mentioned and discussed, and finally the group of the suggested application fields is reported. Some emphasis has been given on the effect of the NBs on the biological applications, where new, unpublished, data are provided.