This project seeks two undergraduate students to work on measuring microbubble sizes in a novel flotation technology currently being developed under the Australian Economic Accelerator (AEA) project. The work will involve developing specialised bubble sampling and imaging techniques to capture air bubbles generated in the flotation system. A machine learning approach will be applied to analyse bubble images and accurately determine bubble size distributions. The project will place particular emphasis on the development and refinement of bubble sampling and assessment methodologies.
School
Minerals and Energy Resources Engineering
Research Area
Mineral processing & flotation science | Bubble dynamics & multiphase flow | Image analysis & machine learning
Suitable for recognition of Work Integrated Learning (industrial training)?
No
- Research environment
- Expected outcomes
- Supervisory team
- Reference material/links
The students will work within a dynamic research group engaged in advanced flotation technologies, they will have access to laboratory-scale flotation cells, high-speed imaging systems, and computing facilities for machine learning analysis. The project will be supervised by experienced academics and researchers with expertise in mineral processing, flotation chemistry, and image analysis.
- Development of a reliable methodology for sampling and imaging ultra-microbubbles.
- Application of machine learning techniques to determine bubble size distributions.
- Improved understanding of bubble behaviour in novel acoustic flotation systems.
- Contribution to the broader AEA project on upscaling acoustic flotation technology.
- Jung, M. U., Kim, Y. C., Bournival, G., and Ata, S. 2023. Industrial application of microbubble generation methods for recovering fine particles through froth flotation: A review of the state-of-the-art and perspectives. Advances in Colloid and Interface Science, 322,103047.
- Jung, M., Kim, J. Y. C., Bournival, G., and Ata, S. 2023. Preliminary study to scale up microbubble generation with acoustic wave. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 154. A194
- Jung, M. U., Kim, Y. C., Bournival, G., and Ata, S. 2025. An acoustic agglomeration method for segregation of micro− to nano−bubbles for flotation of ultrafine particles Separation and Purification Journal, 361, 131290