Formation and Stability of Cavitation Microbubbles in Process Water from the Oilsands Industry

Microbubble-assisted technologies have been widely used in mineral flotation and oil–water separation, among many other industrial processes. This work compares the effects of temperature and air suction on the formation and stability of microbubbles in water from the municipal tap and in process water from the oilsands industry. Microbubbles with a diameter of 1–50 μm were generated using a venturi tube and characterized by focused beam reflectance measurement. Our measurements showed that at room temperature the number density of microbubbles increased with the duration of cavitation treatment and then approached a plateau for both types of waters. When the temperature was high, the cavitation intensity deteriorated after reaching a maximum. Air suction in the venturi tube contributed to generate more bubbles in process water, possibly due to the presence of impurities in process water. This work highlights significant differences in the effective generation of microbubbles in process water and tap water.