Stereoselective adsorptive bubble process

A process for enriching the concentration of an enantiomer in a mixture of optical isomers, the process comprising:

• preparing a solution containing the mixture of the optically active isomers and a chiral collector in which the chiral collector and the enantiomer are associated with each other and in which there are simultaneously at least 3 points of interaction between the chiral collector and the enantiomer,
• bubbling a gas through a pool of the solution to form bubbles, the surfaces of the bubbles having the chiral collector and the enantiomer preferentially adsorbed thereto so that the concentration ratio of the optical isomers at said bubble surface differs from that in the bulk of the pool, and
• moving said bubbles vertically through the area above the upper surface of the pool.

A process for enriching the concentration of an enantiomer in a mixture of optically active isomers, the process comprising:

• preparing a solution containing the mixture of the optically active isomers and a chiral collector in which the chiral collector and the enantiomer are associated with each other and in which there are simultaneously at least 3 points of interaction between the chiral collector and the enantiomer with one of the points of interaction involving a hydrophobic region of the chiral collector,
• bubbling a gas through a pool of the solution to form a foam, the surfaces of the bubbles of the foam having an inclusion complex of the chiral collector and the enantiomer preferentially adsorbed thereto, so that the concentration ratio of the optically active isomers at said bubble surfaces differs from that in the bulk of the pool, and
• moving said foam vertically through the gas-space above the upper surface of the pool.