2005 Volume 53 Issue 1 Pages 41-46
A fundamental study of the continuous foam separation of uneaten fish feed with a new biodegradable surfactant, methylated egg albumin (MeOA), was carried out. Pulverized fish feed particles with a mean diameter of 0.1 mm was used as a model system in this study. Continuous foam separation experiments were conducted at different mass flow rates of the feed particles, MeOA, and bubble surface production rates. A continuous foam separation model considering the adsorption of McOA and the feed particles to bubble surfaces was applied to explain the experimental results. The experimentally determined fractional removal of the feed particles agreed well with the values predicted by the model. The result showed that the fractional removal of feed particles can be predicted by the model with four basic operational parameters; mass flow rates of the feed particles and MeOA, bubble surface production rate, and volumetric flow rate of the water drained.
