ADSORPTIVE BUBBLE SEPARATION METHODS (ABSM): FOAM FRACTION

Abstract

Foam fractionation is an ecological and economical method belonging to the adsorptive bubble separation techniques. It represents an alternative to traditional methods used for the enrichment and isolation of biomolecules. Separation occurs due to the chemical or physical adsorption of surfactant molecules on the surface of the sprayed air bubble or the carrier gas rising through the liquid sample. This unit operation has the potential to use it as a low-cost industrial method for the enrichment and isolation of pharmaceutical biomolecules, proteins, enzymes, polymers, and secondary metabolites of plants and microorganisms. This review focuses mainly on the separation of biomolecules on a large scale and on parameters that influence the efficiency of the separative method.