• Membrane and Water Treatment
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.307-311
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• 2019

The ejector type microbubble generator, which is the method to supply air to water by using cavitation in the nozzle, does not require any air supplier so it is an effective and economical. Also, the distribution of the size of bubbles is diverse. Especially, the size of bubbles is smaller than the bubbles from a conventional air diffuser and bigger than the bubbles from a pressurized dissolution type microbubble generator so it could be applied to the aeration tank for wastewater treatment. However, the performance of the ejector type microbubble generator was affected by hydraulic pressure and MLSS(Mixed Liquor Suspended Solid) concentration so many factors should be considered to apply the generator to aeration tank. Therefore, this study was performed to verify effects of hydraulic pressure and MLSS concentration on oxygen transfer of the ejector type microbubble generator. In the tests, the quantity of sucked air in the nozzle, dissolved oxygen(DO) concentration, oxygen uptake rate(OUR), oxygen transfer coefficient were measured and calculated by using experimental results. In case of the MLSS, the experiments were performed in the condition of MLSS concentration of 0, 2,000, 4,000, 8,000 mg/L. The hydraulic pressure was considered up to $2.0mH_2O$. In the results of experiments, oxygen transfer coefficient was decreased with the increase of MLSS concentration and hydraulic pressure due to the increased viscosity and density of wastewater and decreased air flow rate. Also, by using statistical analysis, when the ejector type microbubble generator was used to supply air to wasterwater, the model equation of DO concentration was suggested to predict DO concentration in wastewater.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Heat Treatment
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.27-32
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• 2022

Microbubble technology has been widely applied in various industrial fields. Recently, research on many types of microbubble application technology has been conducted experimentally, but there is a limit in deriving the optimal design and operating conditions. Therefore, if the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis of multiphase flow is used to supplement these experimental studies, it is expected that the time and cost required for prototype production and evaluation tests will be minimized and optimal results will be derived. However, few studies have been conducted on multiphase flow CFD analysis to interpret fluid flow in microbubble generators using swirl flow. In this study, CFD simulation of multiphase flow was performed to analyze the air-water mixing process and fluid flow characteristics in a microbubble generator with a dual-chamber structure. Based on the simulation results, it was confirmed that a negative pressure was formed on the central axis of rotation due to the strong swirling flow. And it could be seen that the air inside the suction tube was introduced into the inner chamber of the microbubble generator. In addition, as the high-speed mixed fluid collided with external water sucked by the negative pressure near the outlet, a large amount of microbubbles was ejected due to the shear force between the two flows flowing in opposite directions.

• Journal of the Korea Organic Resources Recycling Association
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.27-31
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• 2017

This study was performed to estimate bubble dissolution rate by change of hydraulic pressure according to increase of water depth. Experimental results showed that airflow rate was decreased by increase of hydraulic pressure. Because the force which acts on outlet of nozzle was increased by increase of hydraulic pressure. Mass-transfer coefficient decreased with decreasing airflow rate and increasing effective volume due to increase of hydraulic pressure as water depth increased. On the contrary, as the water depth increased, the bubble dissolution rate was increased because longer residence time of microbubble which was generated by ejector type microbubble generator. However it was thought that if water depth for capacity of ejector type microbubble generator is excessively increasing, bubble dissolution rate would be reduced due to low airflow rate and mass-transfer coefficient. Therefore, it is importance to consider the water depth when operating ejector type microbubble generator.

• Tribology and Lubricants
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.109-114
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• 2022

This paper reports the development of an oil flushing system combined with a microbubble generator. Oil flushing plays a crucial role in regulating the lubricant's performance during the lubricant replacement process. Moreover, harmful contaminants, such as sludge, wear particles, and rust, from piping systems or lubrication system can be removed by oil flushing. Oil flushing aims to increase the system's efficiency using a dedicated flushing oil, increasing of the supply pressure and generating a vortex. In addition, it helps the mechanical system or equipment achieve peak performance and reduces the potential for premature failure. However, the contaminant-removal applications of existing oil flushing system are limited. In this research, we aim to improve the performance of oil flushing system by incorporating a microbubble generator, which uses the venture effect to generate microbubbles and mixes them with lubricant. The microbubbles in the blended lubricant remove contaminants from the lubrication system more effectively. Structural mechanics and fluid dynamics are analyzed through fluid-structure interaction (FSI) analysis, and the numerical analysis results are used for the designing the system. The magnitude of the maximum stress is investigated based on the pressure results obtained by the CFD analysis; through the CFD analysis, the mixing ratio of air (bubble) and lubricant is evaluated using the volume of fluid (VOF) model according to the working conditions.

• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.251-257
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• 2020

This study was performed to verify the possibility of nitrification and denitrification in a single reactor. In batch type experiment, optimal point of experimental conditions could be found by performing the experiments. When supply location of microbubbles was located at half of width of the aeration tank and operating pressure of 0.5 bar, it was possible for zones in the aeration tank to be separated into anoxic and aerobic by controlling air suction rate according to operating pressure of the generator. To be specific, the concentration of dissolved oxygen (DO) in zone 1 and 2 of the aeration tank could be maintained as less than 0.5 mg/L. Also, in the case of concentration of oxygen in zone 3 and 4, the concentration of DO was increased up to 1.7 mg/L due to effects of microbubbles. In continuous flow type experiment based on the results of batch type experiments, the removal efficiency of nitrogen based on T-N was observed as 39.83% at operating pressure of 0.5 bar and 46.51% at operating pressure of 1 bar so it was able to know that sufficient air suction rate should be required for nitrification. Also, denitrification process could be achieved in a single reactor by using ejector type microbubble generator and organic matter and suspended solid could be removed. Therefore, it was possible to verify that zones could be separated into anoxic and aerobic and nitrification and denitrification process could be performed in a single reactor.

• Journal of the Korea Organic Resources Recycling Association
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.31-37
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• 2016

This study was conducted to investigate the effect of OH radicals on organic matter oxidation and suspended solids removal using microbubble as a pre-treatment technique to reduce the organic load of night soil in connection with sewage. The experiment was conducted for three months at HRT 4 hours using pressurized type microbubble generator. The mean SS removal efficiency was achieved 71%. The average removal efficiency of $TCOD_{Cr}$, TBOD, TN and TP were achieved for 51.5%, 47.9%, and 14.7% respectively, as scum and SS were removed by flotation separation. The removal efficiency of soluble organic matters were 25.0%, 17.1% for $SCOD_{Cr}$, SBOD by air microbubble supply. Soluble nitrogen and phosphorus were removed average of 11.9% and 7.4%, respectively. As s result, it was confirmed that soluble organic matters were removed by air microbubble supplied. Generated OH radicals when the microbubble was collapsed, can decompose the soluble organic matters. Therefore, The microbubble flotation process was installed at the front of night soil treatment process, it will contribute to the stable operation of the subsequent biological treatment facility by oxidation of the dissolved organic matters as well as removal of SS by flotation separation.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.16 no.9
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• pp.6397-6402
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• 2015

This research was performed to review operating parameters, optimum condition and check characteristic of microbubble generation for using bubble size distribution according to venturi specification. Optimum operating condition have airflow rate 0.3 LPM, 3 bar(pressure tank) and connecting nozzle directly(without valve), it is advantageous to generate microbubble. In case of characteristic of microbubble generation according to venturi specification, effect that nozzle specification affects bubble size distribution is low impact. But considering performance aspects, when using nozzle that throat diameter 3-4 mm, $D_{50}$ are $54.98-61.19{\mu}m$(D3L15, D4L15), fraction of bubble less than $50{\mu}m$ are 0.326, 0.345. And it is superior to others. Besides, $D_{50}$ and fraction of bubble less than $50{\mu}m$ of throat length 20 mm are $49.40-54.98{\mu}m$, 0.447, respectively And nozzle that throat length 20 mm is relatively tendency to generate microbubble stably.

• Journal of the Society of Naval Architects of Korea
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• v.52 no.4
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• pp.356-363
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• 2015

Microbubbles moving in the turbulent boundary layer are visualized and investigated in the point of frictional drag reduction. The turbulent boundary layer is formed beneath the surface of the 2-D flat plate located in the tunnel test section. The microbubble generator produces mean bubble diameter of 30 – 50 μm. To capture the micro-bubbles passing through the tiny measurement area of 5.6 mm² to 200 mm², the shadowgraphy system is employed appropriately to illuminate bubbles. The velocity field of bubbles reveals that Reynolds stress is reduced in the boundary layer by microbubbles’ activity. To understand the contribution of microbubbles to the drag reduction rate more, much smaller field-of-view is required to visualize the bubble behaviors and to find the 2-D void fraction in the inner boundary layer.

• Tribology and Lubricants
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.121-127
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• 2022

This study presents the development of an integrated oil purification system consisting of moisture removal, oil flushing, and oil filtering devices. In this system, the oil flushing device is combined with a micro-bubble generator. Oil purification is necessary for ensuring the high performance of the lubricant through the efficient removal of contaminants and thus enables good maintenance of mechanical systems. The developed purification system removes moisture, varnish, and solid particles. Moreover, during oil purification, the oil flushing device separates foreign materials and contaminants remaining in the lubricating oil piping or mechanical systems. The microbubble generator, which is combined with the oil flushing device, can separate harmful contaminants, such as sludge, wear particles, and rust, from piping or lubrication systems through the cavitation effect. Moisture is removed using a double high-vacuum chamber, while sludge and varnish are removed via electro-absorption using a high-voltage generator. Additionally, the total maintenance cost of the system is reduced through the use of domestically fabricated cartridge filters composed of glass fiber and cellulose. The heater, which maintains the temperature of the lubricant at 60℃, can process 41,000 L of lubricant simultaneously. Multiple tests confirmed that the proposed integrated purification system exhibits good performance in oil flushing and removal of water and varnish.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers B
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• v.38 no.10
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• pp.865-871
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• 2014

This study was conducted with the aim of developing a venturi-type air supply system for a microbubble generator. In order to determine the influence of the varying geometry of the venturi tube on the flow characteristics, a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation was performed using the commercial CFD software ANSYS CFX-15. Furthermore, in order to elucidate the effects of variation in major design dimensions such as the air supply hole size, position of holes, and number of holes on the air supply characteristics, two-phase multiflow CFD analysis was performed. The analysis results showed that the starting point of expansion on the venturi tube with 0.75 is the best hole position and that the air supply hole size and the number of holes are linearly proportional to the amount of air.