What Is a Nano Bubble Generator?
A nano bubble generator is a device that generates very small bubbles called ultrafine bubbles.
The nano bubble generator produces nano bubbles, which have the ability to sterilize, clean, purify the environment, promote growth, improve immunity, and protect cells.
Uses of Nano Bubble Generators
The main uses of nano bubbles, taking advantage of their properties, are as follows:
- Sterilizing and Cleaning Power
Hospitals and nursing homes - Environmental Cleanup
Wastewater treatment of general and industrial wastewater, purification of rivers, ponds, and seawater, etc. - Ecological Activation, Cell Protection, Growth Promotion
Maintaining freshness of fish, shellfish and crustaceans such as oysters and shrimp, and fish farming.
In addition, nano bubbles also have the effect of promoting water evaporation, which can be used to improve the efficiency of water-cooled cooling towers. They are also used to lower the temperature of liquids efficiently by utilizing their heat transfer capability.
Principle of Nano Bubble Generators
Nano bubble generators generate nano-sized ultrafine bubbles. Generally, bubbles less than 50 micrometers in diameter are called nano bubbles.
Nano bubbles are characterized by the fact that the ionic force causes the gas-liquid interface to shrink, concentrating the ion concentration and increasing the temperature and pressure inside the bubble, resulting in the development of various phenomena. There are two types of nano bubble generators: those that generate nano bubbles together with micro bubbles, which are larger than nano bubbles, larger than 50 micrometers in diameter and about 0.1 mm or less, and those that directly generate nano bubbles.
Types of Nano Bubble Generators
For nano bubble generators, there are “high-speed swirling liquid flow type” and “pressurized dissolution type” that generate micro bubbles and nano bubbles at the same time. Surfactant-added micropore type” and “ultrasonic cavitation type” generate only nano bubbles.
1. High-Speed Swirling Liquid Flow Type
The high-speed swirling liquid flow method utilizes the fact that nano bubbles can remain in the liquid for a long time and micro bubbles float to the liquid surface. First, liquid and gas are mixed to generate bubbles.
When this is rotated as a high-speed swirling liquid flow, the bubbles are crushed into small pieces, creating micro bubbles and ultrafine bubbles in the liquid. Since micro bubbles have the property of floating on the liquid surface, only the nano bubbles remaining in the liquid can be collected after the micro bubbles float and separate.
2. Dissolving Type With Pressure
In the pressurized dissolution method, gas is pressurized to dissolve in a liquid at supersaturation and then rapidly decompressed to generate micro bubbles and nano bubbles in the liquid. Then, as in the high-speed swirling liquid flow method, the micro bubbles are separated by floating and only the nano bubbles are collected.
3. Microporous Type of Interface Active Agent
In the surfactant-added micropore method, a surfactant is first added sufficiently to the liquid to lower the gas-liquid interfacial tension. After this, nano bubbles pass through a membrane with ultrafine pores of a size that only nano bubbles can pass through, and are collected through these ultrafine pores while gas pressure is applied.
4. Ultrasonic Cavitation Type
In the ultrasonic cavitation type, nano bubbles are generated by ultrasonic cavitation of the dissolved gas in the liquid.
Other Information on Nano Bubble Generators
Advantages of Nano Bubble Generators
Nano bubble generators are used to purify wastewater, rivers, and other water quality and to promote growth in fish and shellfish aquaculture, but their use is also expanding in agriculture due to their various advantages.
1. Nutrient Accumulation
Fertilizers used in agriculture to promote growth contain nutrients such as sodium, iron, and calcium, which are positively charged. Nano bubble generators produce nano bubbles that are negatively charged, allowing them to collect nutrients and efficiently feed crops.
2. Penetration Into Plant Cells
The size of nano bubbles generated by nano bubble generators is smaller than plant cells, allowing them to penetrate plant cells easily, thus enabling the nutrients in fertilizers to be efficiently fed to crops.
3. Gas Transport
Nano bubble generators can create nano bubbles from various types of gases, including oxygen and ozone, as well as air. Some agricultural water used in agriculture is pumped up from underground and the problem is that the oxygen concentration in the water is low.
Using nano bubble generators, it is possible to generate oxygen nano bubbles in agricultural water. The water is fed to crops with increased oxygen concentration, and because the oxygen is in the form of nano bubbles, the oxygen reaches the plant cells directly. In some cases, nano bubbles containing ozone, which has high bactericidal and antiviral properties, are used as a countermeasure against pathogens.