However it has much broader application in the chemical process industry and can be used for the removal of surface active contaminants from waste water streams in addition to the enrichment of bio-products.
Whilst protein skimmers have been common place in aquaria for many years, it was not until the 1960s that a concerted effort was made by Robert Lemlich of the University of Cincinnati[1][2] to characterise a model of adsorptive bubble separation processes, of which foam fractionation is one example.
Many workers were satisfied with empirical descriptions of specific systems rather than attempt a mechanistic model of the process, and it is possibly for this reason that the adoption of the technology has been slow despite its enormous potential.
[3] The synergies between foam fractionation and froth flotation have been explored in a 2009 special issue of the Asia Pacific Journal of Chemical Engineering.
Foam fractionation proceeds via two mechanisms: The rate at which certain non-ionic molecules can adsorb to bubble surface can be estimated by solving the Ward-Tordai equation.