TY - JOUR
T1 - Contemporary application of microbubble technology in water treatment
AU - Nair, Sarita S.
AU - Pinedo-Cuenca, Ruben
AU - Stubbs, Tony
AU - Davis, Seth J.
AU - Ganesan, Poo Balan
AU - Hamad, Faik
PY - 2022/11/1
Y1 - 2022/11/1
N2 - Microbubble (MB) technology constitutes a suite of promising low-cost technologies with potential applications in various sectors. Microbubbles (MBs) are tiny gas bubbles with diameters in the micrometre range of 10–100 μm. Along with their small size, they share special characteristics like slow buoyancy, large gas–liquid interfacial area and high mass-transfer efficiency. Initially, the review examines the key dissimilarities among the different types of microbubble generators (MBG) towards economic large-scale production of MBs. The applications of MBs to explore their effectiveness at different stages of wastewater treatment extending from aeration, separation/ flotation, ozonation, disinfection and other processes are investigated. A summary of the recent advances of MBs in real and synthetic wastewater treatment, existing research gaps, and limitations in upscaling of the technology, conclusion and future recommendations is detailed. A critical analysis of the energetics and treatment cost of combined approaches of MB technology with other advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) is carried out highlighting the potential applicability of hybrid technology in large-scale wastewater treatment.
AB - Microbubble (MB) technology constitutes a suite of promising low-cost technologies with potential applications in various sectors. Microbubbles (MBs) are tiny gas bubbles with diameters in the micrometre range of 10–100 μm. Along with their small size, they share special characteristics like slow buoyancy, large gas–liquid interfacial area and high mass-transfer efficiency. Initially, the review examines the key dissimilarities among the different types of microbubble generators (MBG) towards economic large-scale production of MBs. The applications of MBs to explore their effectiveness at different stages of wastewater treatment extending from aeration, separation/ flotation, ozonation, disinfection and other processes are investigated. A summary of the recent advances of MBs in real and synthetic wastewater treatment, existing research gaps, and limitations in upscaling of the technology, conclusion and future recommendations is detailed. A critical analysis of the energetics and treatment cost of combined approaches of MB technology with other advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) is carried out highlighting the potential applicability of hybrid technology in large-scale wastewater treatment.
U2 - 10.2166/wst.2022.328
DO - 10.2166/wst.2022.328
M3 - Review article
SN - 0273-1223
VL - 86
SP - 2138
EP - 2156
JO - Water Science and Technology
JF - Water Science and Technology
IS - 9
ER -