An apparatus for creating
microbubbles of gas in a liquid, and for using such created
microbubbles to purify said liquid of undesirable materials therein. A vertical
pipe member is adapted to receive a liquid-gas mixture having gas bubbles of relatively large
diameter therein. A series of horizontally-extending apertures are provided to permit the
pipe member to expel such liquid-gas mixture radially outwardly from such
pipe member. A plug means is provided in a lowermost distal end of the pipe member, so that such liquid-gas mixture is only expelled horizontally outwardly. The expelled liquid-gas mixture may contact the sides of a containment vessel. A baffle may further be provided in such containment vessel. In a refinement of the invention, a specific relationship is further specified between the exit area of the apertures and the interior cross-sectional area of the pipe member, in order to most suitably convert the gas bubbles in such liquid-gas mixture to
microbubbles of a desired small size when expelled under pressure from such pipe member via such apertures. A limitation on the aperture
maximum dimension, as a function of the pipe interior cross-sectional area and outer circumference, is also disclosed. A method of converting gas bubbles in such liquid-gas mixture to gas microbubbles, and for exposing such gas microbubbles to material entrained in such liquid-gas mixture so as to permit such gas microbubbles to physically or chemically react with such materials, is further disclosed.