Device and method for fluid aeration via gas forced through a liquid within an orifice of a pressure chamber

Abstract

The present invention provides aeration methods using spherical gas bubbles having a size on the order of 0.1 to 100 microns in size. A device of the invention for producing a monodispersion of bubbles includes a source of a stream of gas which is forced through a liquid held under pressure in a pressure chamber with an exit opening therein. The stream of gas surrounded by the liquid in the pressure chamber flows out of an exit orifice of the chamber into a liquid thereby creating a monodispersion of bubbles with substantially uniform diameter. The bubbles are small in size and produced with a relatively small amount of energy relative to comparable systems. Applications of the aeration technology range from oxygenating sewage with monodispersions of bubbles to oxygenation of water for fish maintenance.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.