Environmental Technology & Innovation 23 (2021) 101729

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Environmental Technology & Innovation

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/eti

Advances in micro- and nano bubbles technology for

application in biochemical processes
Anil Kumar Patel a , Reeta Rani Singhania a , Chiu-Wen Chen a , Yi-Sheng Tseng a ,
∗
Chia-Hung Kuo b , Chien-Hui Wu b , Cheng Di Dong a ,
a
Department of Marine Environmental Engineering, National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology,
Kaohsiung City 81157, Taiwan
b
Department of Seafood Science, National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology, Kaohsiung City 81157, Taiwan

article info a b s t r a c t

Article history: Poor mass transfer in gas–liquid systems is still a major bottleneck in many biological
Received 29 May 2021 processes which limits effective bioconversions. Nano bubble technology (NBT) is an
Received in revised form 22 June 2021 emerging platform which offers an immense boost in several biochemical processes.
Accepted 24 June 2021
Tailored application of micro and nanobubbles (MNBs) with precise tuning with gas
Available online 29 June 2021
types and dosing rates were important for biological growth enhancement as well as
Keywords: growth control. From recent studies, nano gas bubbles with a diameter <200 nm was
Nano bubble promising in the interface of gas–liquid mixing systems to improve gaseous mass-
NBT transfer and associated bioprocessing. Likewise, bubbles in micro range also showed
MNBs improvement depending on size, however application of nanoparticle found promising
Mass transfer in their stabilization. Typically, nano size gas bubbles showed lifespan over a month
Microalgae and offered 2–30-folds higher gas solubility depending on the gas in the aqueous
Bioremediation
system. Nano bubbles in water can persist for longer duration and privileged with
adequate dissolved gases hence could promote better growth and thereby productivity
of microbes. At present, there is no comprehensive review published on NBT covering
its main focus on bioprocess enhancement. In this review, we aimed to provide recent
updates on versatile NBT for its present role as well as potential and emerging scope
in various application areas to improve the efficiency of biological processes towards
better bioprocessing, economic and societal benefits.
© 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction

Emerging research trend of nanobubble technology (NBT) in various sectors of bioprocesses has been reported in
the latest reports (Gilmour and Zimmerman, 2020; Movahed and Sarmah, 2021). Advent of nanobubbles has brought
revolution in science as it shows the capacity to sustain for longer duration, bringing significant improvement in resource
recovery, water treatment and food production. Nanobubble (NB) finds numerous potential applications in several fields
due to its unique properties such as longer stability, negative zeta potential, free radical’s formation, scouring, surface
attraction, and oxidation to remove contaminants, which gives extra benefits such as controlling the pathogen growth,
preventing mineral scale and biofilm formation as well as improving the solid/oil/liquid separation processes (Guo et al.,
2019; Ghaani et al., 2020; Zhou et al., 2021). It is becoming increasingly popular for mainly those processes which are

∗ Corresponding author.
E-mail address: cddong@nkust.edu.tw (C.D. Dong).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eti.2021.101729
2352-1864/© 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
A.K. Patel, R.R. Singhania, C.-W. Chen et al. Environmental Technology & Innovation 23 (2021) 101729

suffering with mass transfer issues from gaseous to liquid streams. The reason behind it is the fact that with decreasing
size of the bubbles the rising velocity decreases and surface area to volume ratio increases. The rising velocity of NB
is reported to be lower than the velocity defined by Brownian motion (Kim et al., 2019) which is the most fascinating
and key parameter for its exploitation in bioprocesses for process enhancement. This allows the bubbles to stay in liquid
for a long time and expose a larger interfacial surface for the similar volume of bubbles compared to their macroscale
counterparts. Nanobubbles could be considered as superior to all other scalable gas transfer methods because of being able
to remain suspended in liquid due to its negative surface potential and they neither disappear nor they coalesce with each
other and continue transferring gases throughout the liquid volume until they collapse. The conventional aeration method
normally generates ultrafine (100–3000 µm) and coarse (up to 3000 µm) bubbles. Study showed that the bubble size has
a straight correlation with its rising velocity or buoyancy. Bubble diameter is determined to be directly proportional to the
rise velocity of the bubble as per classical stokes law (Arumugam, 2015). Bubble diameter with the range 0.1 mm showed
0.002–0.003 m/s, and 0.4 mm showed up to 0.05 m/s rising velocity (Arumugam, 2015). Nano bubble may remain stable
till they interact with microorganisms and surfaces. NBW comprises a large number of tiny gas bubbles of the diameter
<200 nm. Especially due to its negative charged surface and reduced buoyancy (Takahashi, 2014) O2 and air NBs water
are apparently bioactive hence finds applications to encourage the growth of microorganisms, animals and plants (Zhu
and Wakisaka, 2019; Guo et al., 2019; Ebina et al., 2013; Liu et al., 2015; Tamaki, 2014).
Another most striking characteristics of nanobubbles as compared to other gaseous–aqueous system is that it occurs
at very high pressure between the internal gaseous phase and external aqueous phase due to the effect of slight curvature
radius and persistent surface tension (Ulatowski and Sobieszuk, 2020). Moreover, inner bubbles pressure in aqueous media
are significantly higher than the outside environment, hence increasing the air solubility into the fluids (Cavalli et al.,
2009). Due to these attractive properties, NBW is popular and being used in diagnostic application, medical aids and
drug delivery (Oishi et al., 2018; Duan et al., 2020). However, its application is growing in various areas of science and
industries with novel and feasible generation methods (Ulatowski and Sobieszuk, 2020; Gilmour and Zimmerman, 2020).
Moreover, microbubble (MB) with diameter ∼100 µm is also reported to be stable over a month (alike nanobubble)
when it is enclosed with a surfactant and gold nanoparticles (∼15 nm) in the surface (Mohamedi et al., 2012; Yasui,
2016). However, MB only with surfactant could stay merely a few hours (Azmin et al., 2012). The basic attributes are
that nanoparticles play a role on the bubble surface to stop gas loss by diffusion. Moreover, radius of bubble curvature
increases due to reduction of the distance between nanoparticles on its surface hence decreases the Laplace pressure
as well as gas diffusion from bubbles surface. In general, with the bulk nanobubbles system, there will not be adequate
surfactant and nanoparticles found.
In environmental science and environmental engineering disciplines, water and wastewater treatments are one of the
main focused areas where NBT was applied in the past years to improve the system performance and treatment efficiency.
Conventional aeration technologies achieve O2 transfer efficiency at standard conditions (OTESC) < 3% each foot of water.
NBT achieves about 85% OTESC permitting dissolved oxygen (DO) levels to increase while using extremely low O2 than any
other aeration technology. It showed NB aeration is highly effective in the oxygen mass transfer in liquid phase, therefore
it finds greater application for enhancing enzyme activity, COD and ammonia removal rates. Increased DO level supported
the biofilm thickening (Xiao and Xu, 2020). Aeration condition found to be closely associated with diverse structure of
the biofilm. NB aeration rate shifted the microbial abundance and metabolic routes and was able to save 80% energy in
aeration. It was found that NBT was a highly efficient, cost effective method for developing aerobic biofilm systems in the
wastewater treatment process (Xiao and Xu, 2020).
It can be applied in several biological processes and enhance the production efficiency of microalgae, probiotics,
biocatalysts and other microbial value-added products. Majority of the research striving to understand physicochemical
properties of nanobubble implies for its attractive features attributed for its superior performance as well as its action
of mechanism to enhance any biochemical interactions or processes. NBT is still in its infancy stage and its pervasive
application remains yet to be effectively implied. Critical analyses upon NBT, revealed its impressive growth during recent
years and collaborating countries are mainly USA, Canada, Japan, South Korea and China (Kim et al., 2019).
The major focus of this article is to compile all the recent developments of MNBT which find application in biological
processes including microbial treatments, microbial upstream and downstream processes for product enhancement. It also
aims to review the current state of the art along with challenges and bottlenecks of micro- and nanobubble technology
for its commercial applications. Moreover, this review also covers NBTs recent advancements in its generation techniques,
critical discussion of NBs unique properties for their wider application in growth of living organisms, production
enhancement, harvesting and extraction of biological substances and for modifying properties of compounds to improve
its efficacy upon application in various fields of science.

2. Salient properties of various NBs

Stability of nanobubbles is one of the most important attributes prior to its strategic application. The stability of diverse
gas nanobubbles differs depending on the properties of particular gas. Their in-depth study is important to exploit them
effectively in various applications. Recent study revealed the nanobubble properties of five different gases included air, O2 ,
N2 , Ar + H2 , and CO2 in deionized water and saline solution. These NBs were generated using hydrodynamic cavitation.
Their properties such as bubble mean size and zeta potential and pH as well as Eh of the NB suspensions were studied.
2
A.K. Patel, R.R. Singhania, C.-W. Chen et al. Environmental Technology & Innovation 23 (2021) 101729

Fig. 1. Schematic presentation of nano bubble longevity in (a) deionized solution and (b) size change in saline solution in the function of time.

The Derjaguin–Landau–Verwey–Overbeek theory was effective for understanding and predicting the NB stability while
accounting the whole potential energy between two bubbles (Zhou et al., 2021). Study effectively revealed the specific
properties variations of NBs generated from various gases. Most of the NBs in deionized water exhibited a longer stability
about two months, whereas they failed to show similar stability in low concentrated (1 mM) saline solution (depicted
in Fig. 1). During two months, their size was slightly altering in deionized water but significant in saline water. Among
them CO2 -NB was exhibiting lowest stability. The stability of CO2 -NBs in deionized water was poor and vanished over
5 days, however it showed better stability for 2 weeks in 1 mM saline solutions of NaCl and CaCl2 . Their floating and
bursting phenomena were determined through counting the relationship between the terminal floating NB velocity and
NB size (Zhou et al., 2021). Salinity affects the water chemistry with the effect of oxidation reduction potential. It reduces
the oxidation potential hence turning water less oxidant which results in lower bubble diameter. Increasing salt content
inhibits the bubble coalescence and reduces the bubble size until it reaches the transition point arises at 10 g l−1 of NaCl
concentration, thereafter it remains the same with further salt additions (Sadeghi and Vissers, 2020). Stability of a gas
bubble also governed by other properties such as zeta potential, ionic strength of solution, bubble size etc. Hence for
acquiring better stability these parameters must be precisely regulated.
A recent study covered the application of four types of NBW generated from air, H2 , N2 , and CO2 in the deionized water
(DW). The bubble properties such as bubble density, zeta potential, size distribution, pH and dissolved oxygen (DO) of
these NBs were determined. Results specified that maximum absolute zeta potential (>−25 mV) and bubble density (∼6
x 107 ml−1 ) comprised with N2 -NB, whereas the lowermost zeta potential and bubble density was recorded with CO2 -NB
<−7 mV and ∼4 × 107 ml−1 respectively (Guo et al., 2019). Remaining gas bubble’s properties such as air and H2 were
lying in between these two gas bubbles. Another study covered the colloidal properties of various gas nanobubbles such
as air, O2 and N2 and their interactions with other process parameters such as ionic strength, pH, organic fraction. These
NBs generated from differing gas in water exhibited variability in the incidence of bubble size ranging 160–340 nm as
well as in zeta potentials ranging −27 to −45 mV (at pH 7) mainly due to the variation in their surface tension or surface
charges (Ahmed et al., 2018a,b). The effect of NBs also tested for relative improvement in dissolved oxygen (DO) level.
Upon application of nanobubble, the level of dissolved oxygen was enhanced from 6.5–25 mg l−1 with the rate of 0.61
ppm min−1 for 30 min. The rate of decrease in DO level in treatments ranging was 0.23 ppm min−1 −3.08 ppm day−1
(Mahasri et al., 2018). Effective enhancement in DO level through NBT could be promising in all microbial high cell density
bioprocesses which are suffering from gas–liquid mass transfer issues in industries.
Radical generation property is very crucial in biochemical interactions especially for pollutant and pathogen removals
during waste treatment. Based on the physicochemical properties of gas, resulting bubbles exhibit radical generation
attributes. Numerical simulations study with O2 -NBs dissolution (into water) without dynamic stimuli was carried out
to understand the prospect of OH radical generation. Study revealed that internal temperature (2800 K) and pressure
(4.5 GPa) of O2 -NBs during last moment of dissolution were relatively lower than air NBs due to its greater thermal
conductivity. O2 -NB dissolves sooner into water than that of air bubble, for complete dissolution, O2 -NB exhibited about
47.6 µs value less than 75.4 µs of an air-NB. The OH radicals were formed per 107 O2 -NBs and its production was 13 orders
3
A.K. Patel, R.R. Singhania, C.-W. Chen et al. Environmental Technology & Innovation 23 (2021) 101729

of magnitude (Liu et al., 2016; Yasui et al., 2019). MBs are mostly generated by acoustic or hydrodynamic cavitation. Two
possibilities have been proposed for OH radical generation: (a) chemical reactions between species generated at the violent
bubble collapse (Rayleigh collapse) while pulsation was on, (b) during its water dissolution without a dynamic stimulus
(after cavitation). Study showed numerical simulations of OH radical’s generation reactions via H2 O2 of an O3 or O2 bubble
were carried out by the chemical reaction with cavitation or without cavitation (dynamic stimulus). However, at acidic
conditions, the former reaction is relatively slow but significant and at alkaline conditions (pH < 8) OH radicals were
negligible when no cavitation occurred during bubble dissolution into water (Yasui et al., 2019b).
Gas dissolution property is very important in MNBT applications which implies radical generation. It varies from micro
to nano scale. The reported increase in de facto gas dissolution in nano scale are ranging from 2.5-fold for O2 to 30 folds
for methane (Ghaani et al., 2020). Study carried out on hydroxyl radicals (•OH) generation in the water from different gas
NBs. Both O2 and air NBs could generate significant OH radicals, However N2 -NBs exhibited quenching hence inhibiting
the OH radical generation due to sonication. This study effectively addresses the oxygen NBs potential for organic pollutant
degradation via advanced oxidation mechanisms (Ahmed et al., 2018a,b).

3. Challenges in NBs generation

The effect for micro- and nanobubbles is promising for energy saving and yield enhancement in existing industrial
processes. These may include chemicals and biofuels production processes, ground water and wastewater treatments etc.
However, nanobubble generation technologies are costly. Therefore, research must advance towards energy-efficient, cost-
effective and accessible nanobubbles generation methods. Study widely addresses the current challenge of NBs generation
which limits its general application.
The likelihood of generating energy-efficient NBs via fluidic oscillator was explored for microbubble generation,
however the same was used for nano bubble generation, the key advantage was the high range of fluidic oscillator covering
Hz–kHz. Uneven distribution of gas flows at nano range exhibiting wetting effects, also showing other surface forces those
are simultaneously limit NBs application for its generation and usage which practically do not occur with the microscale.
The author shows the possibility of using acoustic and ultrasonic waves focusing on shredding the microbubble with
existing fabrication methods for micro as well as nanobubble (Zimmerman et al., 2011a,b).
A study carried out to understand the effects of the injected gas pressures (IGP) along with pore size and surface energy
of the ceramic membrane on the nanobubble size. It was apparent that the IGP had significant effects on the bubble size
of NBs, for instance, increasing the IGP from 69 to 414 kPa, resulted in the reduction of bubble size from 600 to 340 nm.
Surface energy and pores size of membrane exhibited great effects on NBs sizes as well as in zeta potential. The effect
of temperature on distribution of oxygen NBs (ONBs) size in the water was determined, where ONBs size was reduced
with increasing temperature from 255 nm (at 6 ◦ C) to 147 nm (at 40 ◦ C). This size reduction can be attributed to the
decrease in water surface tension with increasing temperatures. Other physical properties of NBs in tested condition e.g.,
surface tension and surface charge exhibited the effect on NBs stability, reactivity and its overall performance (Ahmed
et al., 2018a,b).
One study has impressively developed a novel nanobubbles generation method in aqueous solution. For this, hydrody-
namic cavitation was implied by a centrifugal multiphase pump (CMP) with a needle valve. NBs size ranging 150–200 nm
was generated by CMP at varying pressures and gas–liquid surface tension. These NBs were constant in size but their
concentration increased, they were resilient to shearing force and high pressures (up to 5 bar) during several generation
cycles. Maximum NB concentration about 4 × 109 ml−1 was reached at 5 bar pressure and 49 mN m−1 surface tension
(Etchepare et al., 2017).
In a common practice for bubble generation, gas mostly air and liquid phase water were used with or without surfactant
which also showed a precise effect. There are several hydrodynamic methods which have been implied for micro and
nanobubble generation such as spiral-liquid-flow generator, ejector type generator, depressurizing generator, venturi-
tube or nozzle-based generator, porous membrane type generator. Other methods for micro and nanobubble generation
were achieved through sonication, induced coalescence, oscillation frequency and light scattering (Brittle et al., 2015; Kim
et al., 2019; Ulatowski and Sobieszuk, 2020). The comparative account of these methods showed the smallest bubbles
were formed using ejector (Nakatake et al., 2013b), periodic pressure change (Wang et al., 2019) and ultrasonication
(Kim et al., 2000). USA, Canada, Japan, and South Korea have claimed to have developed unique technologies utilizing
cavitation chambers, pressurized dissolution, ultrafine pores, shear planes, electrolysis, and swirling fluids etc (Kim et al.,
2019). Table 1 summarizing various methods used for nanobubble generation and properties exhibited by evolved gas
bubbles.
For solving costly NBs generation issues, more advancements are a prerequisite. Engineering has to excel in more
possibilities for developing cost-effective methods. The engineering exploitation not only be focused for its feasible
generation but also be centered for application oriented commercial process development for better perspective, which
is currently lacking and not well connected with the basic physical chemistry and engineering science of MB and NB for
their process development. Therefore, it is anticipated that readers of this article would spur better investigation and
designing of bioprocess while underpinning NB science.
4
A.K. Patel, R.R. Singhania, C.-W. Chen et al. Environmental Technology & Innovation 23 (2021) 101729

Table 1
Nano bubble generation methods and bubble properties.
Nanobubble Gas Solvent Zeta Initial bubble Initial bubble Lifespan Reference
production method potential diameter (nm) concentration (days)
Spiral-liquid flow O3 Water −21 247 4.55 × 1010 ND Hu and Xia
(2018)
Ventury/nozzle Ar, Air Water +10 400–1000 ND ND Pourkarimi
et al. (2017)
O2 Water −4.3 344 ND 7 Meegoda et al.
O3 2 mM NaCl -27 148 (2018)
Air ‘‘ −21.3 112
N2 ‘‘ −19.8 102
Ceramic porous Air Water −25 350–400 ND ND Ahmed et al.
membrane (2018a,b)
H2 Gasoline −30 150 11 × 1011 121 Oh et al. (2015)
N2 Water −15 400 ND 35 Ulatowski et al.
(2019)
O2 Water −10 200 ND 10
Periodic pressure N2 Water −25 57 ND 48 Wang et al.
change (2019)
O2 Water ND 47 ND 24
CO2 Water ND 37 ND 48
Ultrasonication Air Watera −2–28 249a ND Cho et al.
(2005)
Air Water −20 749 ND
Hydrodynamic Air Water – 150–200 4 × 109 60 Etchepare et al.
cavitation (2017)
Using centrifugal
multiphase pump
(CMP)
CO2 Water −6 230.7 3.39 × 1011 ND Guo et al.
(2019)
7
N2 Water −25 313 5.76 × 10
H2 144 3 ×x 106 Wang et al.
(2019)
Air Water ND 140 ND ND Hou et al.
(2021)
N2 Water 140
Depressurization Air a-terpinol −45 120 1.5 × 1011 14 Azevedo et al.
(2016)
Air Water ND 190 4 × 1011
Air Water ND 220 5.3 × 1011 – ND Etchepare et al.
3.3 × 1011 (2017b)
Air a-terpinol ND 210 3.2 × 1011 –
2.39 × 1012
Ejector Air Gas oil ND 70–200 ND ND Nakatake et al.
(2013a)
Air Gas oil ND 91 ND ND Nakatake et al.
(2013b)
Splitter type (with Air Water −20 700–900 ND ND Kim et al.
pump) (2019)

ND: Not determined.

a
Surfactant was used C10 TAB.

4. Application areas

Nanobubbles show a varied range of applicability in various science domains and industries. It covers environmental,
medical, agriculture, marine and terrestrial animal production and maintenance, food safety, etc. In recent years its
major application has been particularly focused in environmental processes especially in ground water and wastewater
remediations.

4.1. Agronomy

NBW finds applications in agronomy where it improves the growth of the plants, by promoting root growth through
synergistically enhancing the water usage efficiency in irrigation while saving water along with improvement in yield and
quality of the crop. It can also be promising for developing cost-effective biofertilizers to improve sustainable soil nutrition
(Liu et al., 2019). The study also proposed the quality greenhouse crop production improvement through subsurface drip
5
A.K. Patel, R.R. Singhania, C.-W. Chen et al. Environmental Technology & Innovation 23 (2021) 101729

irrigation of NBW which is attributed to have longer retention time in soil to increase its O2 content, and exhibiting better
mass transfer aptitude. Moreover, it is also reported to increase the food safety (Klintham et al., 2015)
Micro bubbles are also reported to control fungal disease and improve crop cultivation condition by increasing not only
the value of DO and electric conductivity in water but also effectively decreasing the osmotic pressure. Thus, they are very
likely to improve agricultural environments. For instance, it is known that root rot begins once the field water with DO
of <5.0 mg L−1 is given. As MB water is effective to solve this problem as it interferes soil from being oxidized, hence it
rises to a replaceable base in soil colloid (Nakashima et al., 2012). Micro- and nanobubble water was also investigated to
decrease the cyanobacterial growth in the agriculture field and improve its cultivation condition. A pond with 140 ha and
6 m of depth was examined to recover from unbearable bad smell caused by previous blooming, for which two units of
750 W nanomizer were employed to control their growth (Nakashima et al., 2012).
Some of the plants studied in this context were ordinary heat resistant grasses, which are usually grown in golf courses.
Elevated temperature in soil becomes a critical factor to induce root diseases such as root rot reaching soil temperature
over 30 ◦ C. To resolve such problem, the micro–nano bubble water produced by Nanomizer at 450 W was spread over
the grasses of golf course field to examine the effect of NBW. The result was favorable, and study confirmed that the
root growth without the root rot was enhanced. The NBW application possibly helped to reduce the fungal growth in the
field while externally controlling the field temperature below 30 ◦ C. Effect of NBW on Brassica campestris in comparison
with the non-bubbled water was promising and encouraged the height and length of this plant (Ebina et al., 2013).
Likewise, MB effect was investigated for lettuce growth in the hydroponic systems, in which microbubble application in
water improved its growth as compared to microbubble (Park and Kurata, 2009). Increased growth rate of tested plants
was investigated through genomic studies and confirmed that nanobubbles induced the expression of selective genes
accountable for cellular divisions and elongation (Liu et al., 2017). Moreover, further investigation showed that the seeds
from different plants responded variably to the NBs presence and their effect predicted on germination which could be
plant-dependent (Ahmed et al., 2018a).
Application of NBs also tested for reduction in CH4 gas emission from paddy soil. It is well reported that flooded paddy
soil and sediments encourage anaerobic digestion or oxidation of organics from the upper soil layer ranging 4–15 mm.
O2 -NBs application with irrigation water or zeolite loading showed 28%–69% reduction in methane emission. NBs reported
to control the redox condition in aquatic environments (Minamikawa and Makino, 2020; Shi et al., 2018).

4.2. Sea food and animal

In recent years, the effect of NBW on the growth of marine and terrestrial animals have been investigated, including
rainbow trout, sweet-fish and male mice (Ebina et al., 2013). Compared with the normal water, the NBW significantly
improved the weight and health of rainbow trout, sweet-fish and male mice. Each animal treated with NBW grew better
(in mass and dimension) and exhibited better food consumption. For instance, the sweet-fish population in NBW increased
from 3.0 to 10.2 kg after 3 weeks of NBW application, however, sweet-fish growth in normal water was obtained 6.4 kg
from the same application duration (Ebina et al., 2013). NBW comprises better oxygen levels and with this technology
the same effectively transfers to these animals and helps them for their improved growth and health. Such hyperoxia
condition through supply of nanobubbles was quite apparent from several other studies (Guo et al., 2019; Zhou et al.,
2021). Also, earlier reports confirmed that hyperoxia could enhance the growth of not only plants (Yoshida et al., 1996)
but also animals (Owerkowicz et al., 2009). It provides better insights as to whether and how NBW can replace ordinary
water for increasing the production and yield of microorganisms and their products.
Apart from the growth promotion approached through NBs, it also tested for pathogen control in aquatic animals.
According to recent research, nanobubbles combined with ultrasound exhibited the decrease in aquatic pathogens which
were a common basis of seafood borne disease in humans for example gastroenteritis. These discoveries provide a new
height in the remediation approach of harmful bacteria for improved marine and freshwater animal production such as
fish and shellfish pathogens removal in the aquaculture sector (James, 2020). Mahasri et al. (2019) also reported the NBT
application for growth enhancement of Litopenaeus vannamei (white shrimp) by reducing Vibrio counts and maintaining
higher DO level in an aquaculture system.

4.3. Microbial upstream and downstream bioprocesses

4.3.1. Algal bioprocess

The effect of versatile NBT was investigated on the growth and metabolism of some microalgae. One recent study
reported that NBW exhibits notable effects on growth of Haematococcus lacustris and Botryococcus braunii. This study
mainly investigated the effect of NBW concentration ranging from 0%–90% (30%–40% interval) on the production media.
Their improved growth was monitored with respect to non-bubbled control biomass fraction up to 44 and 26% respectively
(Zhu and Wakisaka, 2019). Both the strains are known producers of astaxanthin and lipid as main products respectively.
The astaxanthin fraction in H. lacustris in the nano-bubbled water was better than the control group. The lipid content
in B. braunii cells was slightly reduced in NBW however total lipid yield was significantly higher as compared to control
which was mainly due to the increased biomass in the NBW sample. The NBW could assist as the potential technique
to promote the growth of microalgae for enhancing production of numerous high value products. When effects of O2 -NB
6
A.K. Patel, R.R. Singhania, C.-W. Chen et al. Environmental Technology & Innovation 23 (2021) 101729

and H2 -NB in water on growth of two microalgae was investigated, the cell growth by both NBW was similar to the
control, and total lipid content was relatively less; however, chlorophyll and carotenoid contents were increased in both
algae. The increase in chlorophyll content in Nanochloropsis oculata determined from O2 -NB and H2 -NB was 54 and 30%
respectively, and in Chlorella vulgaris 59 and 39%. Whereas increase in carotenoid content by employing O2 -NB and H2 -NB
in N. oculata was 21 and 25% respectively, and in C. vulgaris 49 and 29% increase was recorded (Choi et al., 2014).
NBT has also been investigated in the harvesting process of blue green algae (BGA). Harvesting is a major bottleneck in
algae biorefining which is costing up to 30% of the overall algal bioprocess cost (Tan et al., 2020). The effect of dissolved air
flotation (DAF) was investigated in terms of efficient harvesting of BGA Microcystis aeruginosa (single cell) and Planktothrix
rubescens (filament) biomass, toxin discharge into water and coagulant demand based on nature of water, organic matters
as well as coagulation/flocculation degree. Result showed slightly better effects on cells than the filaments morphology.
DAF condition setting (duration, frequency, pressure etc.) and efficiency achieved with NB was dependent on NOM content
and their nature towards water interactions (Teixeira et al., 2010). Relatively larger bubble size in micro scale tested for
DAF in Microcystis sp. (spherical), Chlamydomonas angulosa (oval), and filamentous algae Phormidium sp. (Bui et al., 2015).
In this process Al3+ as a coagulant was applied along with a 10%–30% recycling ratio. Algae harvesting efficiency was set
by cell number, dissolved organic carbon (DOC), total organic carbon (TOC), and the changes in cellular morphological
i.e., shape or size. Study showed, filamentous algae with 86% (30% RR, 5 mg l−1 additive) harvesting efficiency was best
among them followed by spherical algae with 80% harvesting efficiency. These findings, thus, confirm that the morphology
of algae greatly affects the harvesting process of gas bubble technology (Bui et al., 2015).
One latest study was focused on NB effects for microbial aggregates in two common cases that are activated sludge and
biofilm (Xiao et al., 2021). In this study, various factors (structural stability, composition, function) have been evaluated
to check their effect on the aggregation process. Here nanobubble mediated DO for microbial aggregates helped to
improve 10.58% nitrogen removal. It also improved the structure of microbial aggregates, in which exopolysaccharide
and extracellular protein respectively increased 1.70 and 3.40 folds in activated sludge and biofilm, which exhibited
enhancement in floc size of activated sludge and in the biofilm thickness. This study also confirmed that extracellular
conformation of active substances upon microbial aggregates were significantly changed due to the application of O2
nanobubbles (Xiao et al., 2021). Usually, NBT was more applicable for activated sludge rather than biofilm, however
recommendation of this study for NBT usage in biofilm led to improved biofilm configuration. NB helps to optimize the in-
depth dispersion of active microorganisms and their metabolism pathway through increasing the structural development
of microbial aggregates.
Microalgae harvesting through foam flotation is a well adopted general method in which the effect of bubble size
and rise velocity have been studied very well on the efficiency of a foam flotation (Coward et al., 2015). Generally, in
the liquid pool, bubble migration enables mixing and therefore raises the interaction probability of algae-bubble. Bubbles
offer the interface for the microalgae cell attachment and also transport the adhered microalgae towards the interface of
foam-liquid. During the foaming stage, bubble merging boosts fluid drainage and offers an inner reflux which raises the
concentration factor for the harvesting process (Coward et al., 2015).

4.3.2. Bacterial and yeast bioprocess

Effects of NB water have recently been examined on growth of probiotic strain Lactobacillus acidophilus as well as its
acid production ability (Guo et al., 2019). For this, four kinds of NBW are generated using air, H2 , N2 , and CO2 . These NBs
were examined for the L. acidophilus growth and production. Among them, N2 -NBW showed the maximum zeta potential
and density, though the lowest value was determined with CO2 -NBW. Except CO2 -NB, all NB showed positive growth
effects on Lactobacillus acidophilus 1028 at the lag and log phases. The N2 -NB exhibited the best growth increase (51.1%)
after 6 h of cultivation. The kinetic study revealed that the N2 -NB repleted culture showed the smallest lag phase and
the highest specific growth rate. Overall study proposed that above positive effects on Lactobacillus acidophilus 1028 were
associated with the zeta potential and bubble density properties of these NBs might have greatly affected the substances
transport which ultimately eliciting effects on probiotics growth (Guo et al., 2019).
The zeta potential of NB decreases with the increase in pH however zeta potential is constant for micro bubbles at
any pH value (Kim et al., 2019). When bubble diameter is decreased to 700–900 nm, it becomes immobile in water and
loses its buoyancy. This property reflects that measuring the NB concentration (by volume) can be determined through
exposure to ultrasonic waves which induce to merge them into microbubbles (MBs). It is known that mass transfer is
relative to rising velocity and surface area of bubbles, thus the application of NB could significantly enhance the mass
transfer rates while adopting advanced aeration and oxidation processes (Kim et al., 2019).
Mass transfer is very important in microbial bioprocessing. The paradigm for gaseous mass transfer in bioreactors
through bubbles has constantly been assumed that the gas transfer facilitates from the bubble (gaseous) to the aqueous
phase, followed by its consumption by microorganism from aqueous phase (or opposite in bio-strippings). It is more
efficient with increasing bubble surface area therefore decreasing bubble size facilitates better mass transfer with greater
surface area. This can also be achieved by kLa estimation, as the microbial metabolic flux of consumption must match
the flux of gaseous mass transfer. Where ‘kL’ is the mass transfer coefficient, and ‘a’ is surface area per unit gas volume
(Gilmour and Zimmerman, 2020). Mass transfer of dissolved gases in the gas–liquid system during the dosing and stripping
process is well studied and reported. Mass transfer efficiency depends on several factors including temperature, pressure,
surface area, gas volume ratio etc. In a novel mass transfer mechanism, microorganisms and microbubbles exchange gas
7
A.K. Patel, R.R. Singhania, C.-W. Chen et al. Environmental Technology & Innovation 23 (2021) 101729

directly due to collisions and other contacting phenomena (Gilmour and Zimmerman, 2020). A study showed that CO2
microbubble dosing was important to maintain equilibrium with metabolic offgas (O2 ) in production media to reduce DO
in order to promote D. salina growth. The DO at saturation level was hampering growth of D. salina (Zimmerman et al.,
2011b).
Improvement in O2 mass transfer by O2 microbubbles was investigated in yeast propagation (Hanotu et al., 2016;
Raghavendran et al., 2020). During industrial production from yeast, oxygen is usually starved in operations, for which
microbubbles are permitted to get better dissolved oxygen in the bioreactor, whereas sturdy flow using conventional
diffusers often failed to maintain required dissolved oxygen levels. MBs formed by fluidic oscillation found effective for
yeast growth by efficient mass transfer and mixing. It was noticeable that MBs environments encourage the expression
of significantly dissimilar protein profiles than conventional aeration.
Some of the recent studies investigated the NBs effect on anaerobic digestion process especially for biohydrogen and
biomethane yield improvements. These studies examined the effect of various NBs generated using N2 , air, H2 and CO2
gases and their relative effects on two stage AD process (Wang et al., 2019, 2020a,b; Hou et al., 2021). From these studies,
NBs effect was apparent on bacterial growth, enzyme and coenzyme (F420 ) activities which greatly favored enhancement
of 25%–38% biohydrogen and 14%–24% biomethane production respectively.

4.4. Microbial and pesticide removal

Microbial pathogens such as E. coli and Salmonella, foodborne pathogens as well as pesticides removals were investi-
gated during washing with NBW with and without additives/oxidizing agents. The efficiency of micro-bubbled water was
examined on six fresh vegetables namely coriander, asparagus, ginger, mint, okra and lemongrass for removal of E. coli
and Salmonella counts. Washing was done with NBW for 15 min at 4.5 L min−1 flow rate which effectively reduced above
pathogens from studied vegetables. Another experiment of NBW washing was carried out by blending with acetic acid,
sodium hypochlorite and citric acid for Brassica oleracea var. alboglabra washing. Japanese method of using NBW blended
with ozone as an oxidizing agent proved remarkable for removal of pesticides. These studies reported that compared to
the normal water washing, NBW washing was effective to reduce microbial load and pesticides and recommended this
technique’s potential to apply for enhancing the food safety, particularly in fresh products (Klintham et al., 2015). This
study was not an in-depth investigation regarding NBW action mechanisms with more gas solubility to enhance microbial
removal or its antimicrobial activity due to active O2 species hence more research is required to understand and exploit
NBT in similar application and for other food safety.
Likewise, Ozone MB used approx. 2 ppm for 0–10 mins for the removal of residual pesticide Fenitrothion from
vegetables such as lettuce, strawberries and cherry tomatoes. It showed that the application method has correlation
on removal efficiency, and the decompression type was more effective than the gas–water circulation type application
(Ikeura et al., 2011). These are also important for effective decontamination of places, apparatuses and appliances. O3 -MB-
water treatment found effective to remove bacteria, yeast and viruses (Khadre et al., 2001). Some microbes reported to
be resilient to ozonosphere or any treatment however their removal was also achieved by O3 -MBs treatment (Kobayashi
et al., 2011). It was expected that the efficiency of O3 -NBs would be even better than MBs.
A study focused on removal of detrimental algal bloom and cyanotoxin from natural water bodies (Wen, 2020). The
applications of these O2 or ozone NBs for removal of algal blooms attributes to its highly reactiveness on pollutants or
pathogens owing to their prolonged stability in water as compared to normal bubble or microbubbles. Moreover, while
collapsing on the surface it generates shock waves and converts into OH radicals which act on pollutants and pathogens for
their removals. The reduction in algal growth was reported up to 84% after 72 h of treatment (Wen, 2020). The effect of NBs
was effective to release algogenic substances upon algal cell lysis however the side effects of these NBs was negligible upon
water quality and aquatic creatures. Besides the degenerative effect of •OH radicals on microalgae control, air bubbles
were also observed to enhance dissolved O2 level in the water and induce changes in the redox degree as well as speciation
of nitrogen, sulfur and phosphorus which can ultimately regulate algae growth control and algae-induced anoxia/hypoxia
in the eutrophic waters. The study was still not enough to explain the mechanisms of NBs upon algae cell deformation,
degradation mechanisms of cyanotoxin and other potential pollutants/nutrients (Wen, 2020).

4.5. Wastewater bioremediation

The practice in wastewater treatment has significantly increased in the past decades. These bubbles have distinctive
characteristics to enable them to be highly efficient in water treatment. Unlike macro bubbles which show high velocity to
reach the aqueous surface and collapse, microbubble rise with much lower velocity, stay prolonged and collapse midway
and the nanobubble stay even longer as their rising velocity is even slower than the brownian motion due to extremely
small size. Upon collapsing, ozone microbubbles liberate OH radicals, which effectively bioremediate the pollutants (Yasui
et al., 2019b). At the stage of the collapsing, its temperature rises up to 7200 K, however, endothermic heat of ozone
substantially cools down these bubbles. The atoms of O2 are instantly disbursed as 107 OH radicals inside a bubble through
reaction with H2 O vapor (Temesgen et al., 2017a), rendering its appropriate property for contaminant removals from water
and wastewaters.
8
A.K. Patel, R.R. Singhania, C.-W. Chen et al. Environmental Technology & Innovation 23 (2021) 101729

NBs are applicable in biochemical as well as in mechanical sections of wastewater treatment facilities. O2 in micro-
and nanobubbles forms has the capacity to produce several OH radicals. These radicals exhibit high potential for oxidation
which leads to the degradation of numerous pollutants (Sunil Paul et al., 2013; Sreekanth et al., 2013). Application of O3
offers greater radical’s production (Von Gunten, 2003). Therefore, effectiveness of O2 and O3 NBs to decrease the COD up to
90% have been achieved depending on composition and initial COD of the wastewater (Yang et al., 2012). For example, O2
and O3 were examined to decolorize the textile industry wastewater (Chu et al., 2007), also tested for pesticides fraction
reduction in the water and land contaminated from pesticides (Ikeura et al., 2011). From both studies, O2 and O3 NBs
resulted in significant enhancement of treatment effectiveness (Ikeura et al., 2011).
O3 NBs were exploited for the bioremediation of groundwater. Methyl orange pollutant was effectively oxidized by
O3 NBs with 30 min of treatment and its reduction from the initial concentration 10 to 0.16 mg l−1 was achieved. When
NBs efficiency was compared with MBs, reduction in the methyl orange concentration (up to 9.08 mg l−1 ) by MBs was
lower than NBs efficiency under similar treatment duration (Hu and Xia, 2018). Moreover, in the comparative account of
O2 transfer rate between both bubble sizes, NBs has offered a higher rate compared to MBs which has been referred for
its greater efficiency in bioremediation (Li et al., 2013).
NBs are also found effective in the mechanical stage of wastewater treatment where big particles or oil fractions
are removed mainly through floatation from wastewater liquid. Due to less rising velocity of MB and NB, these are
easily dispersed in the tank and able to cover entire space where larger bubbles cannot reach (Rocha e Silva et al.,
2018). Moreover, the applicability of bubbles is increasing proportionally in flotation while decreasing bubble size. It was
recorded that shorter diameter bubble introduce higher bubbles that may adhere largely upon a particle or oil droplet.
The cumulative rising force due to high rising velocity of several bubbles is able to lift the pollutants to the surface of
wastewater more than that of macro bubbles (Etchepare et al., 2017a). Importantly, the rising velocity of those bubbles
were higher which adhered to pollutants rather than those bubbles which were freely distributed in fluid (Etchepare et al.,
2017a). This finding showed that these bubbles stay longer in the aqueous phase and rise to the surface only when they
attach to any pollutants, which is most required in the flotation process (Silva et al., 2019).

4.6. Surface water and sediment/land remediation

Application of nanobubble is also reported for land remediation from heavy metals and minerals like arsenic, nitrogen
and phosphorus. In these studies, a specialized aerated O2 -nanobubble-modified-minerals (ONMM) was formed which
effectively increased the DO level at applied interfacial microenvironment. ONMM was applied on polluted land and/or
water-sediment interface which promoted As retention on iron plaque at roots by 1.92–2.95 folds. In this interaction,
ONMM increased the As oxidation to form arsenate which adsorbed on iron oxides hence reduced As concentration in
root and shoot respectively 1.5–1.8 and 1.8–3.3 folds. Similarly, phosphorus leaching was also attained through application
of ONMMs to reduce the release flux of P from sediment where Fe-P precipitation was mainly constituted (Sha et al.,
2020; Yu et al., 2019). The application of ONMMs reduced the soluble reactive P approx. 97.9% from covering water as
well as its release flux by 78.9% from sediments. Application of ONMMs was also effective for flux reduction of NH3-
N, TP, and TN occurring in sediment by 51, 96, and 25%. These reductions could be attained through ONMMS mediated
growth promotion of Nitrobacter, Denitrifying and Ammonia oxidizing bacteria (Wang et al., 2020a,b). O2 NBs dosing found
effective to reduce methylmercury (MeHg) formation when exogenous Hg pollution occurs in sediment water interface
where existing anoxic conditions support Hg reduction by microbial methylators and facilitates above reaction well. It also
reduces organic carbon from surface sediment and in overlaying water by 37 and 57% respectively (Ji et al., 2020). Further
investigation on O2 carrying material (OCM) revealed that P retention in the O2 -locking interface enhances via re-oxidation
of Fe2+ to Fe3+ . OCM mediated O2 -locking interfaces maintain DO depth (up to 3 cm), Improve O2 penetration in sediment
and keep replenishing O2 which are important criteria for anoxia remediation and intra-eutrophic remediation (Zhang
et al., 2020). By plugging with OCM, the DO in covering water significantly improved from 1.5 to 3.5–4 mg l−1 . Moreover,
it was 5–6 mg l−1 obtained with and without algal blooms-based systems. Recent work also addresses effectivity of micro
and nanobubbles applications of using traditional and advanced techniques, for example aeration, flotation, and ozonation
are effective in pollutant and color removals, water decontamination, as well as the organic pollutants oxidation. Micro
and nanobubbles technology has arisen as a promising platform for an effective extraction of detrimental pollutants (Singh
et al., 2021). Table 2, is well summarizing all above applications of various nanobubbles in various biological processes
for process enhancement.

4.7. NBs for nanoparticle generation and its medicinal usage

Micronization is found effective for improving some of the properties of natural active ingredients associated with their
natural form in biochemical processes which limits their positive effects due to low solubility in water and instability.
Supercritical CO2 (sc-CO2 ) micronization exhibited great scope in this context due to their distinctive properties, for
example cost effectiveness, non-flammability, non-toxicity, environmentally benign, rapid mass transfer, efficient solvents
removal, zero surface tension etc. These attractive properties with sc-CO2 find great application in medicinal areas (Xie
et al., 2019).
9
A.K. Patel, R.R. Singhania, C.-W. Chen et al. Environmental Technology & Innovation 23 (2021) 101729

Table 2
Application of nanobubbles in various biological processes for process enhancement.
Nanobubble Media Microorganism Size Application area References
type
N2 and O2 Water Anaerobic consortia ND A 10 and 22% enhancement in Wang et al.
methane production from NB (2020a,b)
augmented reactor
Air Water Microcystis aeruginosa ND Harvesting of blue green algae Teixeira et al.
Nanobubbles and Planktothrix enhanced by improving coagulation (2010)
rubescens /flocculation degree
Air, N2 , H2 , and Water Activated sludge 144 nm Methane production from AD process Wang et al.
CO2 consortia (14%–21% increase) (2019)
Air Neutral E. Coli, Vibrio ND For removing microbial biofilms from Shiroodi et al.
Nanobubbles electrolyte parahaemolyticus, and surfaces and enhancing the efficacy (2021)
water Listeria innocua of conventional sanitizers
O2 Nano Water Paddy soil anaerobic ND Reduction in oxidation of organics in Minamikawa
bubble methanogens flooded paddy soil to reduce and Makino
20%–28% CH4 emission (2020)
O2 and H2 Water Nannochloropsis oculata 266 & Enhanced growth, photosynthetic Choi et al.
and Chlorella vulgaris 512 nm capacity and carotenoid content (2014)
O2 Nano Water sediment anaerobic ND Reduction in oxidation of organics in Shi et al.
bubble methanogens sediment to reduce 50%–69% CH4 (2018)
emission
O2 Nano Water Paddy soil anaerobic ND 12%–25% in annual CH4 emission Xu et al. (2017)
bubble methanogens
Air and N2 Water Anaerobic consortia 140 nm Enhancement in AD for biohydrogen Hou et al.
nanobubble (38%) and biomethane (24%) (2021)
production, and 8%–47% hydrolases
activities, 34% F420 activity
Air Water Microcystis sp., ND Harvesting of microalgae enhanced Bui et al.
Nanobubbles Chlamydomonas angulosa, by improving coagulation through (2015)
and Phormidium sp. exogenous Al3+ addition
O3 Water Brassica oleracea var. Removal of pesticides by oxidation Klintham et al.
Nanobubbles alboglabra through O3 NBs to obtain safe food (2015)
O2 and O3 Water Algal bloom ND Oxygen NBs induce the death of algal Wen (2020)
Nanobubbles bloom up to 84% by producing highly
reactive OH radicals
Air, N2 , H2 , and Water Lactobacillus acidophillus 199, 313, Effect on bacterial growth in aerobic Guo et al.
CO2 1028 206, 230 nm fermentation, 51.1% increase in (2019)
growth in 6h cultivation by N2-NB
O3 Water Organic dye containing ND Induction of harmful methyl orange Hu and Xia
Nanobubbles water reduction from contaminated ground (2018)
water over 90%
Air nanobubble Water Haematococcus lacustris <200 nm Enhanced growth, total lipid yield Zhu and
and Botryococcus braunii and astaxanthin content Wakisaka
(2019)
O2 Nanobubble Water Arsenic polluted land ND Oxidation of As at iron plaque and Sha et al.
reduce its mobilization into crop 2–3 (2020)
folds
O2 Nanobubble Water Waterbody sediment ND reduced NH3-N, TP, and TN release Wang et al.
from sediment by 51, 96, and 25% (2020a,b)
respectively
O2 Nanobubble Water Waterbody sediment ND Reduced soluble P release approx. Yu et al. (2019)
97.9% from overlay Water and 78.9%
from sediments

ND: Not determined.

One study described a new optical material as graphene nanobubbles which find application in medicines (Bao et al.,
2015). This material is commonly utilized in cancer studies and drug delivery (Yin et al., 2012, 2013). NBs application
exhibited increased fish survival rates even after prolonged CO2 anesthesia (Kugino et al., 2016), shows ozone bactericidal
effects in the periodontitis treatment (Hayakumo et al., 2013). Moreover, NBT is becoming a promising technology in the
medical arena (Matsuki et al., 2012). However, the mechanisms leading to the NBs effects on living creatures at cellular
and molecular levels are still emerging. Thus, the NBs effects assessment at these levels must be used strategically in
medicine and therapeutics. Its precise use in pediatric dentistry has also been demonstrated (Shoi et al., 2014).
10
A.K. Patel, R.R. Singhania, C.-W. Chen et al. Environmental Technology & Innovation 23 (2021) 101729

5. Future prospects

Micro/nano bubble technologies (MNBT) are fundamentally recognized to have potential to reduce chemicals and
gaseous consumption significantly, hence offer better process efficiency and can also substantially reduce the size of
the large-scale treatment facilities. MNBT is becoming popular as an environmentally-friendly technique which can be
adopted with feasible design for various applications. This technology has a substantial importance and future for its
larger application in complex systems such as in wastewater treatment due to excellent properties such as ease for
tailoring surface charge, high mass transfer rate, reduced rising velocity, free OH radical formation and better collision
efficiency. It also finds great application in membrane systems such as membrane bioreactors, membrane separators in
which collapsing energy of MB and aeration potential of NB are greatly employed for defouling the membrane through
enhanced surface scouring. It also helps to reduce sludge formation in membrane devices.
Broad applications of MNBs for element separation, microbial removal and organic pollutant degradation were
anticipated due to remarkable floatability of the bubble-particle aggregates, impressive ozone mass transfer rate and
contact time, prominent aeration efficiency in microbial wastewater treatment, and enhancement of OH radical generation
for attaining better oxidation. Moreover, free radical formation in no chemical environment is a more attractive application
of O2 and O3 MNB for pollutant oxidation in wastewater. From studies it was noticeable that NBT has tremendous
scope with tailored NBs applications where combination of gas types and their dosing ratios would be crucial for precise
application. For example, NBs find applications for microbial growth promotion as well as their removal/death. Therefore,
the major difference lies due to their intrinsic properties which apply with fine tuning of specific gas selection and their
required concentrations to effectively perform any particular biochemical reaction. Highly reactive radical generation
potential of certain gases might be desirable for pathogen removal however limited radical production with optimum
gas–liquid mass transfer potential would be desirable for microbial growth promotion. It shows that strategic use of NBs
would be promising in the coming year therefore studies must be focused mainly application-oriented characterization
of various gas nanobubbles.
Since the beginning of the century, regulated use of microbubbles in medical imaging has been reported. However,
its application in bioprocessing only has perceived major advances during the last decades in few bioprocesses, such as
in wastewater treatment where it is already adopted at full industrial scale. However, in other areas it still remains at
pilot scale such as aerobic fermentation and anaerobic digestion which are well existing as a part or full technology in
several biomanufacturing and pharmaceutical processes. I think the major hurdle of NBT advances in biological processes
could be the lack of collaboration between engineers’ experts in gas–liquid hydrodynamics and biotechnologists. NBT
production and application needs greater expertise which might be the reason it was not easily accessed and explored
in bioprocessing. The chances of such collaborations are becoming higher due to increasing national and international
collaborations between scientists especially conferences and workshops carried out often worldwide. Researchers have to
explore opportunities to solve key issues which are in line with nanobubble technology potential. Future collaborations
must target characterizing various NBs and their concentrations for bioprocessing differing their gas needs. For example,
the algal process needs CO2 and O2 for phototrophic and heterotrophic growths respectively, however both CO2 and O2
are necessary in mixotrophic growth. These gas nanobubble dosing must be optimized in various trophic modes for algal
process enhancement. Also, we need to look for possibilities if air nanobubbles can effectively be used to replace costly
concentrated CO2 or flue gas requirements for better growth of algae as air does not carry sufficient CO2 content to
fulfill organic carbon needs of algae at required rate. If air nanobubbles could be effective at least similar to usual growth
processes with 2%–3% CO2 concentration, then it would be promising to those algal bioprocesses which are usually being
terminated for a few months during overhaul period in industries for maintenance purposes and that loss is unavoidable.
The present usage and encouraging potential of energy-efficient NBs can be tuned more effectively with more
advancement in NB research, then it could be a promising improvement in many areas ranging from biochemical reactions,
bioreactors performance and product extraction with flotation or reactive separations to precise application like efficient
drug delivery and controlled release.

6. Conclusion

Micro- and nanobubbles are a magical high energy sphere which enhance biochemical processes mysteriously due
to their impressive stability, reactivity and longevity. Till date, usages of NBs are inadequate in high-value processes
or applications, e.g., microbial fermentation, extraction and separation, product refining, medical imaging, nanoparticle
generation etc. The latest application and potential of NBs and apprehension of NB structure and mechanisms are
reviewed. The review of the potentially existing and upcoming advantages of NBs leads for the conclusion that if these
energy-efficient nanobubbles were easily accessible with its flexible usage as well as in production, it could lead a broad-
spectrum application in several upstream and downstream industrial bioprocesses which is not yet fully achieved. The
current scope of energy-efficient MBs production if converted into NBs generation, it could be promising in NBT as the
bottleneck exists in NB generation largely. More studies are required to develop cheaper and simple NBT generation
methods to make it more feasible for application at each scale. Based on the outcome, it can be concluded that the usage
of MNBs as energy-efficient technology is promising for treatment of ground water, surface water, wastewater, and other
applications such as algal bioprocess, agronomic processes, medical etc. however some of the technical challenges are yet
to be solved such as scaling up of the technology to commercial scale in a cost-effective manner.
11
A.K. Patel, R.R. Singhania, C.-W. Chen et al. Environmental Technology & Innovation 23 (2021) 101729

CRediT authorship contribution statement

Anil Kumar Patel: Conceptualization, Data curation, Writing - original draft, Writing - review & editing, Visualization.
Reeta Rani Singhania: Conceptualization, Background and data collection, Data curation, Data curation, Writing - original
draft, Writing - review & editing, Visualization. Chiu-Wen Chen: Formal correction, Validation, Supervision. Yi-Sheng
Tseng: Background and data collection, Data curation. Chia-Hung Kuo: Conceptualization, Background and data collection,
Writing - original draft. Chien-Hui Wu: Writing - review & editing, Supervision. Cheng Di Dong: Formal correction,
Validation, Supervision.

Declaration of competing interest

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have
appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Acknowledgment

AKP and RRS would like to acknowledge the Taiwan MOST for funding support (Ref. No. 109-2222-E-992-002). All
authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

References

Ahmed, A.K.A., Shi, X., Hua, L., Manzueta, L., Qing, W., Marhaba, T., Zhang, W., 2018a. Influences of air, oxygen, nitrogen, and carbon dioxide
nanobubbles on seed germination and plant growth. J. Agric. Food Chem. 66, 5117–5124.
Ahmed, A.K.A., Sun, C., Hua, L., Zhang, Z., Zhang, Y., Zhang, W., Marhaba, T., 2018b. Generation of nanobubbles by ceramic membrane filters: the
dependence of bubble size and zeta potential on surface coating, pore size and injected gas pressure. Chemosphere 203, 327–335.
Arumugam, P., 2015. Understanding the Fundamental Mechanisms of a Dynamic Micro-Bubble Generator for Water Processing and Cleaning
Applications (Master thesis). University of Toronto, Canada, submitted for publication.
Azevedo, A., Etchepare, R., Calgaroto, S., Rubio, J., 2016. Aqueous dispersions of nanobubbles: generation, properties and features. Miner. Eng. 94,
29–37.
Azmin, M., Mohamedi, G., Edirisinghe, M., Stride, E.P., 2012. Dissolution of coated microbubbles: the effect of nanoparticles and surfactant
concentration. Mater. Sci. Eng. C 32, 2654–2658.
Bao, Q., Chen, J., Xiang, Y., Zhang, K., Li, S., Jiang, X., Xu, Q.H., Loh, K.P., Venkatesan, T., 2015. Graphene nanobubbles: a new optical nonlinear material.
Adv. Opt. Mater. 3, 744–749.
Brittle, S., Desai, P., Ng, W.C., Dunbar, A., Howell, R., Tesař, V., Zimmerman, W.B., 2015. Minimising microbubble size through oscillation frequency
control. Chem. Eng. Res. Des. 104, 357–366.
Bui, T.T., Nam, S.N., Han, M., 2015. Micro-bubble flotation of freshwater algae: A comparative study of differing shapes and sizes. Sep. Sci. Techno.l
50, 1066–1072.
Cavalli, R., Bisazza, A., Giustetto, P., Civra, A., Lembo, D., Trotta, G., Guiot, C., Trotta, M., 2009. Preparation and characterization of dextran nanobubbles
for oxygen delivery. Int. J. Pharm. 381, 160–165.
Cho, S.H., Kim, J.Y., Chun, J.H., Kim, J.D., 2005. Ultrasonic formation of nanobubbles and their zeta-potentials in aqueous electrolyte and surfactant
solutions. Colloids Surf. A 269, 28–34.
Choi, S.J., Kim, Y.H., Jung, I.H., Lee, J.H., 2014. Effect of nano bubble oxygen and hydrogen water on microalgae. Appl. Chem. Eng. 25 (3), 324–329.
Chu, L.B., Xing, X.H., Yu, A.F., Zhou, Y.N., Sun, X.L., Jurcik, B., 2007. Enhanced ozonation of simulated dyestuff wastewater by microbubbles. Chemosphere
68, 1854–1860.
Coward, T., Lee, J.G.M., Caldwell, G.S., 2015. The effect of bubble size on the efficiency and economics of harvesting microalgae by foam flotation. J.
Appl. Phycol. 27, 733–742.
Duan, L., Yang, J., Jin, J., Yang, F., Liu, D., Hu, K., Wang, Q., Yue, Y., Gu, N., 2020. Micro/nano-bubble-assisted ultrasound to enhance the EPR effect
and potential theranostic applications. Theranostics 10 (2), 462–483.
Ebina, K., Shi, K., Hirao, M., Hashimoto, J., Kawato, Y., Kaneshiro, S., Morimoto, T., Koizumi, K., Yoshikawa, H., 2013. Oxygen and air nanobubble water
solution promote the growth of plants, fishes, and mice. PLoS One 8, e65339.
Etchepare, R., Azevedo, A., Calgaroto, S., Rubio, J., 2017a. Removal of ferric hydroxide by flotation with micro and nanobubbles. Sep. Purif. Technol.
184, 347–353.
Etchepare, R., Oliveira, H., Nicknig, M., Azevedo, A., Rubio, J., 2017. Nanobubbles: Generation using a multiphase pump, properties and features in
flotation. Miner. Eng. 112, 19–26.
Etchepare, R., Oliveira, H., Nicknig, M., Azevedo, A., Rubio, J., 2017b. Nanobubbles: generation using a multiphase pump, properties and features in
flotation. Miner. Eng. 112, 19–26.
Ghaani, M.R., Kusalik, P.G., English, N.J., 2020. Massive generation of metastable bulk nanobubbles in water by external electric fields. Sci. Adv. 6
(14), eaaz0094.
Gilmour, D.J., Zimmerman, W.B., 2020. Microbubble intensification of bioprocessing. Adv. Microb. Physiol. 77, 1–35.
Guo, Z., Wang, X., Wang, H., Hu, B., Lei, Z., Kobayashi, M., Adachi, Y., Shimizu, K., Zhang, Z., 2019. Effects of nanobubble water on the growth of
Lactobacillus acidophilus 1028 and its lactic acid production. RSC Adv. 53 (9), 30760.
Hanotu, J., Kong, D., Zimmerman, W.B., 2016. Intensification of yeast production with microbubbles food and bioproducts processing, 100 (Pt. A),
424-431.
Hayakumo, S., Arakawa, S., Mano, Y., et al., 2013. Clinical and microbiological effects of ozone nano-bubble water irrigation as an adjunct to mechanical
subgingival debridement in periodontitis patients in a randomized controlled trial. Clin. Oral Investig. 17 (2), 379–388.
Hou, T., Zhao, J., Lei, Z., Shimizu, K., Zhang, Z., 2021. Enhanced energy recovery via separate hydrogen and methane production from two-stage
anaerobic digestion of food waste with nanobubble water supplementation. Sci. Total Environ. 761, 143234.
Hu, L., Xia, Z., 2018. Application of ozone micro-nano-bubbles to groundwater remediation. J. Hazard. Mat. 342, 446–453.
Ikeura, H., Kobayashi, F., Tamaki, M., 2011. Removal of residual pesticide, fenitrothion, in vegetables by using ozone microbubbles generated by
different methods. J. Food Eng. 103, 345–349.

12
A.K. Patel, R.R. Singhania, C.-W. Chen et al. Environmental Technology & Innovation 23 (2021) 101729

James, A., 2020. Nanobubbles: New chemical-free alternative reduces the risk of foodborne illnesses within the aquaculture indus-
try. https://www.foodandfarmingtechnology.com/news/aquaculture/nanobubbles-new-chemical-free-alternative-reduces-the-risk-of-foodborne-
illnesses-within-the-aquaculture-industry.html (last accessed on 14/05/2021).
Ji, X., Liu, C., Pan, G., 2020. Interfacial oxygen nanobubbles reduce methylmercury production ability of sediments in eutrophic waters. Ecotox. Environ.
Saf. 188, 109888.
Khadre, M.A., Yousef, A.E., Kim, J.-G., 2001. Microbiological aspects of ozone applications in food: a review. J. Food Sci. 66, 1242–1252.
Kim, S., Kim, H., Han, M., Kim, T., 2019. Generation of sub-micron (nano) bubbles and characterization of their fundamental properties. Environ. Eng.
Res. 24 (3), 382–388.
Kim, J.Y., Song, M.G., Kim, J.D., 2000. Zeta potential of nanobubbles generated by ultrasonication in aqueous alkyl polyglycoside solutions. J. Colloid
Interface Sci. 223, 285–291.
Klintham, P., Tongchitpakdee, S., Chinsirikul, W., Mahakarnchanakul, W., 2015. Using sanitizer and fine bubble technologies to enhance food safety,
FFTC-KU International workshop on risk management on agrochemicals through novel technologies for food safety in Asia, November 10-14.
Sampran Riverside, Nakorn Pathom, Tailand..
Kobayashi, F., Ikeura, H., Ohsato, S., Goto, T., Tamaki, M., 2011. Disinfection using ozone microbubbles to inactivate Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. melonis
and Pectobacterium carotovorum subsp. carotovorum. Crop Prot. 30, 1514–1518.
Kugino, K., Tamaru, S., Hisatomi, Y., Sakaguchi, T., 2016. Long-duration carbon dioxide anesthesia of fish using ultra fine (nano-scale) bubbles. PLoS
One 11, e0153542.
Li, H., Hu, L., Xia, Z., 2013. Impact of groundwater salinity on bioremediation enhanced by micro-nano bubbles. Materials 6, 3676–3687.
Liu, S., Oshita, S., Kawabata, S., Makino, Y., Yoshimoto, T., 2016. Identification of ROS produced by nanobubbles and their positive and negative effects
on vegetable seed germination. Langmuir 32, 11295–11302.
Liu, S., Oshita, S., Kawabata, S., Thuyet, D.Q., 2017. Nanobubble water’s promotion effect of barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) sprouts supported by RNA-seq
analysis. Langmuir 33 (43), 12478–12486.
Liu, S., Oshita, S., Makino, Y., 2015. Oxidative capacity of nanobubbles and its effect on seed germination. ACS Sustain. Chem. Eng. 4 (3), 1347–1353.
Liu, Y., Zhou, Y., Wang, T., Pan, J., Zhou, B., Muhammad, T., Zhou, C., Li, Y., 2019. Micro-nano bubble water oxygation: Synergistically improving
irrigation water use efficiency, crop yield and quality. J. Clean. Prod. 222, 835–843.
Mahasri, G., Harifa, A.I., Sudarno, 2019. Oxygen dissolved nanobubble technology improved the quality of pacific white shrimp cultivation. Ind. Veter.
J. 96 (05), 37–39.
Mahasri, G., Saskia, A., Apandi, P.S., Dewi, N.N., Rozi, M.N., 2018. Development of an aquaculture system using nanobubble technology for the
optimation of dissolved oxygen in culture media for nile tilapia (oreochromis niloticus). IOP Conf. Ser.: Earth Environ. Sci. 137, 012046.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/1755-1315/137/1/012046.
Matsuki, N., Ichiba, S., Ishikawa, T., et al., 2012. Blood oxygenation using microbubble suspensions. Eur. Biophys. J. 41 (6), 571–578.
Meegoda, J.N., Aluthgun Hewage, S., Batagoda, J.H., 2018. Stability of nanobubbles. Environ. Eng. Sci. 35, 1216–1227.
Minamikawa, K., Makino, T., 2020. Oxidation of flooded paddy soil through irrigation with water containing bulk oxygen nanobubbles. Sci. Total
Environ. 709, 136323.
Mohamedi, G., Azmin, M., Pastoriza-Santos, I., Huang, V., Perez-Juste, J., Liz-Marzan, L.M., Edirisinghe, M., Stride, E., 2012. Effects of gold nanoparticles
on the stability of microbubbles. Langmuir 28, 13808–13815.
Movahed, S.M.A., Sarmah, A.K., 2021. Global trends and characteristics of nano- and micro-bubbles research in environmental engineering over the
past two decades: A scientometric analysis. Sci. Total Environ. (2021), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.14736.
Nakashima, T., Kobayashi, Y., Hirata, Y., 2012. Method to exterminate blue–green algae in a large pond and to improve plant growth by micro-nano
bubbles in activated water. Acta Hortic. 938, 391–400.
Nakatake, Y., Kisu, S., Shigyo, K., Eguchi, T., Watanabe, T., 2013a. Effect of nano air-bubbles mixed into gas oil on common-rail diesel engine. Energy
59, 233–239.
Nakatake, Y., Watanabe, T., Eguchi, T., 2013b. Experimental investigation on diesel engine performance using nano air-bubbles mixed into gas oil. J.
Energ. Power Eng. 7, 827–833.
Oh, S.H., Han, J.G., Kim, J.M., 2015. Long-term stability of hydrogen nanobubble fuel. Fuel 158, 399–404.
Oishi, A., Shimokawa, H., Sakaniwa, E., Takahashi, M., Miyashin, M., Arakawa, S., 2018. Oxygen and air nanobubbles in water inhibit proliferation of
dental follicle stem cells in vitro. Dent. Health Oral Disord. Ther. 9 (6), 460–462.
Owerkowicz, T., Elsey, R.M., Hicks, J.W., 2009. Atmospheric oxygen level affects growth trajectory, cardiopulmonary allometry and metabolic rate in
the American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis). J. Exp. Biol. 212, 1237–1247.
Park, J.S., Kurata, K., 2009. Application of microbubbles to hydroponics solution promotes lettuce growth. Horttechnol. 19, 212–215.
Pourkarimi, Z., Rezai, B., Noaparast, M., 2017. Effective parameters on generation of nanobubbles by cavitation method for froth flotation applications.
Physicochem. Prob. Miner. Proc. 53, 920–942.
Raghavendran, V., Webb, J.P., Cartron, M.L., Springthorpe, V., Larson, T.R., Hines, M., Mohammed, H., Zimmerman, W.B., Poole, R.K., Green, J., 2020. A
microbubble-sparged yeast propagation–fermentation process for bioethanol production. Biotechnol. Biofuel 13, 104.
Sadeghi, F., Vissers, A.J.W.H., 2020. Experimental investigation of bubble size in flotation: Effect of salt, coagulant, temperature, and organic compound.
SPE Prod. Oper. http://dx.doi.org/10.2118/200495-pa.
Sha, Z., Chen, Z., Feng, Y., Xue, L., Yang, L., Cao, L., Chu, Q., 2020. Minerals loaded with oxygen nanobubbles mitigate arsenic translocation from paddy
soils to rice. J. Hazard. Mater. 398, 122818.
Shi, W., Pan, G., Chen, Q., Song, L., Zhu, L., Ji, X., 2018. Hypoxia remediation and methane emission manipulation using surface oxygen nanobubbles.
Environ. Sci. Technol. 52 (15), 8712–8717.
Shiroodi, S., Schwarz, M.H., Nitin, N., R., Ovissipour., 2021. Efficacy of nanobubbles alone or in combination with neutral electrolyzed water in
removing Escherichia coli O157:H7, Vibrio parahaemolyticus, and Listeria innocua biofilms. Food Biop. Technol. 14, 287–297.
Shoi, K., Aoki, K., Ohya, K., Takagi, Y., Shimokawa, H., 2014. Characterization of pulp and follicle stem cells from impacted supernumerary maxillary
incisors. Pediatr. Dent. 36 (3), 79E–84E.
Silva, R.D.R., Rodrigues, R.T., Azevedo, A.C., Rubio, J., 2019. Calcium and magnesium ion removal from water feeding a steam generator by chemical
precipitation and flotation with micro and nanobubbles. Environ. Technol. 1–9.
Rocha e Silva, F.C.P., Rocha e Silva, N.M.P., Luna, J.M., Rufino, R.D., Santos, V.A., Sarubbo, L.A., 2018. Dissolved air flotation combined to biosurfactants:
a clean and efficient alternative to treat industrial oily water. Rev. Environ. Sci. Biotechnol. 17, 591–602.
Singh, B., Shukla, N., Cho, C.H., Kim, B.S., Park, M.H., Kim, K., 2021. Effect and application of micro- and nanobubbles in water purification. Toxicol.
Environ. Health Sci. 13, 9–16.
Sreekanth, R., Prasanthkumar, K.P., Sunil Paul, M.M., Aravind, U.K., Aravindakumar, C.T., 2013. Oxidation reactions of 1- and 2-naphthols: an
experimental and theoretical study. J. Phys. Chem. A 117, 11261–11270.
Sunil Paul, M.M., Aravind, U.K., Pramod, G., Aravindakumar, C.T., 2013. Oxidative degradation of fensulfothion by hydroxyl radical in aqueous medium.
Chemosphere 91, 295–301.

13
A.K. Patel, R.R. Singhania, C.-W. Chen et al. Environmental Technology & Innovation 23 (2021) 101729

Takahashi, M., 2014. Nanobubbles: An introduction. In: Tsuge, H. (Ed.), Micro-and Nanobubbles Fundamentals and Applications. Pan Stanford
Publishing, Singapore, pp. 307–315.
Tamaki, M., 2014. Agricultural, marine and stock-raising fields. In: Tsuge, H. (Ed.), Micro- and Nanobubbles Fundamentals and Applications. Pan
Stanford Publishing, Singapore, pp. 219–251.
Tan, J.S., Lee, S.Y., Chew, K.W., Lam, M.K., Lim, J.W., Ho, S.H., Show, P.L., 2020. A review on microalgae cultivation and harvesting, and their biomass
extraction processing using ionic liquids. Bioeng 11 (1), 116–129.
Teixeira, M.R., Sousa, V., Rosa, M.J., 2010. Investigating dissolved air flotation performance with cyanobacterial cells and filaments. Water Res. 44,
3337–3344.
Temesgen, T., Bui, T.T., Han, M., Kim, T.I., Park, H., 2017a. Micro and nanobubble technologies as a new horizon for water-treatment techniques: A
review. Adv. Colloid Interface Sci. 246, 40–51.
Ulatowski, K., Sobieszuk, 2020. Gas nanobubble dispersions as the important agent in environmental processes – generation methods review. 34
(S1), 772-790..
Ulatowski, K., Sobieszuk, P., Mróz, A., Ciach, T., 2019. Stability of nanobubbles generated in water using porous membrane system. Chem. Eng. Proc.
Proc. Intens. 136, 62–71.
Von Gunten, U., 2003. Ozonation of drinking water: Part I. Oxidation kinetics and product formation. Water Res. 37, 1443–1467.
Wang, J., Chen, J., Yu, P., Yang, X., Zhang, L., Geng, Z., He, K., 2020a. Oxygenation and synchronous control of nitrogen and phosphorus release at the
sediment-water interface using oxygen nano-bubble modified material. Sci. Total Environ. 725, 138258.
Wang, X., Lei, Z., Shimizu, K., Zhang, Z., Lee, D.J., 2020b. Improved methane production from corn straw using anaerobically digested sludge
pre-augmented by nanobubble water. Bioresour. Technol. 311, 123479.
Wang, Q., Zhao, H., Qi, N., Qin, Y., Zhang, X., Li, Y., 2019. Generation and stability of size-adjustable bulk nanobubbles based on periodic pressure
change. Sci. Rep. 9, 1–9.
Wen, Z., 2020. Development of Reactive Nanobubble Systems for Efficient and Scalable Harmful Algae and Cyanotoxin Removal. EPA report: grant
number V840019 (Phase II).
Xiao, W., Xu, G., 2020. Mass transfer of nanobubble aeration and its effect on biofilm growth: Microbial activity and structural properties. Sci. Total
Environ. 703, 134976.
Xiao, W., Xu, G., Li, G., 2021. Effect of nanobubble application on performance and structural characteristics of microbial aggregates. Sci. Total Environ.
765, 142725.
Xie, M., Xu, M., Chen, X., Li, Y., 2019. Recent progress of supercritical carbon dioxide in producing natural nanomaterials. Mini_Rev. Med. Chem. 19
(6), http://dx.doi.org/10.2174/1389557518666181015152952.
Xu, H., Zhu, B., Liu, J., Li, D., Yang, K., Jiang, Y., Hu, Y., Zeng, Z., 2017. Azolla planting reduces methane emission and nitrogen fertilizer application
in double rice cropping system in southern China. Agron. Sustain. Dev. 37, 29.
Yang, D.M., Wang, B., Ren, H.Y., Yuan, J.M., 2012. Effects and mechanism of ozonation for degradation of sodium acetate in aqueous solution. Water
Sci. Eng. 5, 155–163.
Yasui, K., 2016. Mechanism for stability of ultrafine bubbles. Jpn. J. Multiph. Flow 30, 19–26.
Yasui, K., Tuziuti, T., Kanematsu, W., 2019. High temperature and pressure inside a dissolving oxygen nanobubble. Ultrason.-Sonochem. 55, 308–312.
Yasui, K., Tuziuti, T., Kanematsu, W., 2019b. Mechanism of OH radical production from ozone bubbles in water after stopping cavitation. Ultrason.
Sonochem. 58. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ultsonch.2019.104707.
Yin, T., Wang, P., Li, J., Zheng, R., Zheng, B., Cheng, D., Li, R., Lai, J., Shuai, X., 2013. Ultrasound-sensitive sirna-loaded nanobubbles formed by
hetero-assembly of polymeric micelles and liposomes and their therapeutic effect in gliomas. Biomat 34, 4532–4543.
Yin, T., Wang, P., Zheng, R., Zheng, B., Cheng, D., Zhang, X., Shuai, X., 2012. Nanobubbles for enhanced ultrasound imaging of tumors. Int. J. Nanomed.
7, 895–904.
Yoshida, S., Kitano, M., Eguchi, H., 1996. Water uptake and growth of cucumber plants (Cucumis sativus l.) under control of dissolved O2 concentration
in hydroponics. Acta Hortic. 440, 199–204.
Yu, P., Wang, J., Chen, J., Guo, J., Yang, H., Chen, Q., 2019. Successful control of phosphorus release from sediments using oxygen nano-bubble-modified
minerals. Sci. Total Environ. 663, 654–661.
Zhang, H., Chen, J., Han, M., An, W., 2020. Anoxia remediation and internal loading modulation in eutrophic lakes using geoengineering method
based on oxygen nanobubbles sci. Total Environ. 714, 136766.
Zhou, Y., Han, Z., He, C., Feng, Q., Wang, K., Wang, Y., Luo, N., Dodbiba, G., Wei, Y., Otsuki, A., Fujita, T., 2021. Long-term stability of different kinds
of gas nanobubbles in deionized and salt water. Materials 14 (1808).
Zhu, J., Wakisaka, M., 2019. Effect of air nanobubble water on the growth and metabolism of Haematococcus lacustris and Botryococcus braunii. J.
Nutr. Sci. Viraminol. 65, S212–S216.
Zimmerman, W.B., Tesar, V., Bandulasena, H.C.H., 2011a. Towards energy efficient nanobubble generation with fluidic oscillation. Curr. Opin. Colloid
Interface Sci. 16 (4), 350–356.
Zimmerman, W.B., Zandi, M., Bandulasena, H.C.H., Tesař, V., Gilmour, D.J., Ying, K., 2011b. Design of an airlift loop bioreactor and pilot scales studies
with fluidic oscillator induced microbubbles for growth of a microalga Dunaliella salina. Appl. Energy 88, 3357–3369.

14