Ozone Micro-Nano Bubble Technology: Principle, Applications, And Technological Breakthroughs

Ozone Micro-Nano Bubble Technology: Principle, Applications, and Technological Breakthroughs

Ozone micro-nano bubble technology is a cutting-edge oxidation technology formed by combining ozone gas (O₃) with micro-nano bubbles (bubbles with a diameter of less than 50 micrometers). Its core principle lies in leveraging the unique physicochemical properties of micro-nano bubbles to enhance the mass transfer efficiency and reaction activity of ozone: When ozone in a high-pressure environment forms micro- to nano-scale bubbles through specialized generators (e.g., cyclone shearing, pressurized dissolution-decompression explosion), its enormous specific surface area (up to a thousand times that of conventional bubbles) significantly increases the gas-liquid contact interface, thereby accelerating ozone dissolution. Additionally, due to their extremely small size, the bubbles experience greatly reduced buoyancy, allowing them to remain in the liquid for several hours (compared to only a few seconds for conventional bubbles), continuously releasing ozone. Crucially, micro-nano bubbles in aqueous solutions undergo spontaneous collapse due to interfacial tension imbalance, a process accompanied by local high temperatures (approximately 5000K) and pressures (>100 MPa), which triggers water molecule splitting to produce hydroxyl radicals (·OH). With an oxidation potential of 2.8V—far higher than that of ozone (2.07V)—hydroxyl radicals non-selectively attack organic molecular chains, forming a dual degradation mechanism of "direct ozone oxidation + free radical chain reaction," which is 3–5 times more efficient than traditional ozone aeration.

This technology has been widely applied in high-difficulty pollution control fields. In water treatment, it efficiently degrades stubborn pollutants such as benzene series compounds and antibiotics in chemical and pharmaceutical wastewater (for example, after a petrochemical park adopted an ozone micro-nano bubble system, the COD removal rate of its wastewater increased from the conventional 65% to 92%). It achieves removal rates exceeding 85% for emerging pollutants like microplastics and endocrine disruptors. In medical disinfection scenarios, nanoscale bubbles can penetrate small pores of medical instruments, synergizing with ozone to kill drug-resistant bacteria and viruses. After use at a hospital in Shanghai, the removal rate of biofilms on surgical instruments increased by 90%, and sterilization time was reduced by 40%. In agriculture, introducing ozone micro-nano bubble water through irrigation systems not only inactivates soil pathogens (e.g., a 98% inactivation rate of Fusarium) but also enhances soil redox potential. Trials in Zhejiang greenhouses showed a 70% reduction in tomato bacterial wilt incidence and a 15% increase in yield. For groundwater remediation, this technology enables in-situ oxidation of heavy metals such as arsenic and chromium (in one chromium-contaminated site remediation project, hexavalent chromium concentration was reduced from 15 mg/L to 0.05 mg/L) with no risk of secondary pollution. Additionally, it is used in food processing for aquatic product purification, rapidly degrading illegal additives like formaldehyde and malachite green. A seafood processing plant reported a formaldehyde removal rate reaching 99.2%.

Current technological breakthroughs focus on energy consumption optimization—for example, the piezoelectric ceramic micro-bubble generator developed by the Chinese Academy of Sciences reduces energy consumption to 30% of traditional equipment. Application scenarios are expanding into emerging fields such as lithium battery recycling (oxidative stripping of electrode materials). In the future, leveraging Internet of Things (IoT) technology to achieve intelligent regulation of dissolved oxygen and redox potential will further unlock its potential in ecological governance and green production.