How much power, or change, can a bubble really provide? Depending on the application and scope, we have found that bubbles have great power and can create dramatic change. Through the past 10 years, great advances in the study and science of bubbles have arisen, specifically in relation to microbubbles and nanobubbles. These tiny bubbles are at the core of BES Water Solution's mission, and how we look to attain new solutions to old problems.
It is well understood that surface area has a direct effect on the transfer of energy and force. For example, if a 300 pound offensive lineman steps on your foot in regular shoes, it hurts, but it is not overtly painful. Conversely, a 120 pound female steps on your foot with high heels, it is incredibly painful. Why the difference? It comes back simply to surface area and the transfer of energy. The offensive lineman's weight was spread out, while the high heel concentrated the female's. So how does a 300 pound offensive lineman in high heels transfer to bubbles?
Through new technology and research, it was discovered that it is possible to create bubbles so tiny that microscopes cannot see them. They have very unique qualities and characteristics in comparison to bubbles we are used to seeing. For most of us, it is understood that when a bubble is generated in liquid, it rises immediately to the surface and pops, releasing the gaseous compounds trapped inside the bubble. This is because of their buoyancy. This example is also how most aquatic aeration systems are built. They force compressed air to the bottom of a wastewater lagoon, or pond/lake, and release air, forming bubbles that will travel to the surface and pop. While very common, is it efficient?
Nanobubbles, on the other hand, are so small they will actually sink in water. They also move through water in what is called the Brownian Motion. This simply means that rather than floating to the surface, they remain suspended in the water and bounce off molecules and particles in random directions, until their absorption is required. Some studies indicate that nanobubbles are able to remain suspended in water for two to three months, potentially creating lasting impacts on a water system's health. Specifically in correlation to dissolved oxygen, the bottom tier of the water column in a lake contains the lowest levels of oxygen. With standard aeration, released bubbles are there for seconds. With nanobubbles, they will actually fall to those depths and remain until needed, leading to very high transfer efficiency.
So how how does size matter? Let's look at the size of bubbles and their volumes. Think of a basketball, and if you submerged that basketball in water like a bubble. It would contain approximately 435 cubic inches of air for its volume, and would have a surface area of 278 square inches. That is similar to a 16.5 inch by 16.5 inch square. So that single bubble was able to touch 278 square inches of water and work to transfer things like oxygen to the surrounding water molecules.
For most of today's aquatic aeration systems, course bubbles are created. These bubbles are 2-3 millimeters in size (1 million nanometers is equal to 1 millimeter), so approximately the size of a bb. To equal the same volume of air as the basketball, it takes approximately 212,995 bubbles. While these bubbles have individually smaller surface areas, the total of their surface areas equals 16,578 square inches. That is approximately the same surface area as an 11 foot by 11 foot square. So our air volume is the same, but it seems our efficiency for water contact has increased.
BES Water Solutions is after nanobubbles though. These bubbles have diameters that are around 250 nanometers in size. 100,000 nanometers is the thickness of a sheet of paper! To equal the same volume as our basketball, it would require 871 quadrillion (Not hundreds, not thousands, not millions, not billions, not trillions but quadrillions!!) nanobubbles. Their combined surface area now equals over 265 million square inches. So our basketball of air is now equal to just over 37 football fields. So we have three bubble options that all equal the same volume, but have incredibly different opportunities to impact change in their aquatic systems.
Nanobubbles are changing solutions across the world on how liquids can be used in different processes. BES Water Solutions is excited to be part of this growth.
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