A washing machine includes a cabinet; an outer basket in the cabinet and configured to contain wash water; an inner basket in the outer basket and configured to accommodate laundry; a water supply valve unit in the cabinet and connected to an external water supply source to receive wash water; a cabinet cover on an upper side of the cabinet and having an input hole for the laundry; and a micro-bubble generator configured to receive wash water from the water supply valve unit, generate micro-bubbles, and supply the micro-bubbles to a washing space. The micro-bubble generator includes a nozzle unit at or near the input hole and configured to generate micro-bubbles by receive wash water in which gas is dissolved or mixed and discharge wash water having the micro-bubbles therein into the inner basket after the micro-bubbles are generated.

Provided are an ultra fine bubble production apparatus and production method capable of collecting ultra fine bubbles efficiently. To this end, a cooler unit is controlled so that a temperature of a liquid in a collector unit can be lower than a temperature of a liquid containing ultra fine bubbles generated in an ultra fine bubble generation unit.

A microbubble generating device that is capable of generating microbubbles from contaminated water is provided. The microbubble generating device 10 according to the present invention includes a liquid flow path 11 through which a pressurized liquid flows, a discharge path 12 through which generated microbubbles and a liquid are discharged, a throat part 13 that connects the liquid flow path 11 and the discharge path 12, and that has a flow path area smaller than the area of the liquid flow path 11 or the discharge path 12, and a gas supply path 14 for supplying a gas into the liquid flow path 11 or the throat part 13, wherein the gas supply path 14 has an exit end 143 that opens toward the downstream side of the liquid flow.

The invention comprises an improved venturi apparatus and method of use.

The invention provides a microdroplet- or bubble-producing device that does not require separate through-holes for different liquid droplet/air bubble-producing flow channels. The droplet-producing flow channels are configured in a three-dimensional manner unlike in a conventional device where they are configured in a two-dimensional plane, and therefore the flow channels can be provided in a more high-density configuration than the prior art. In the microdroplet/bubble-producing device comprising slit(s) and the row of the plurality of microflow channels, the slit(s) is/are a continuous phase supply slit, a dispersion phase supply slit and a discharge slit, the plurality of microflow channels are configured so that the ends of the slit(s) and the two supply ports on both sides or the supply port and discharge port on either side are mutually connected, and at the sites of connection between the microflow channels and the slit(s), the dispersion phase undergoes shear with the continuous phase flow as the driving force, producing droplets or air bubbles of the dispersion phase, which are recovered from the discharge port.

The purpose of the present disclosure is, in a bubble generating device provided with a bubble generating unit for generating minute bubbles in water flowing through the inside of the cylindrical main body unit, to improve the bubble generating efficiency of the bubble generating unit. Provided is a bubble generating device provided with a cylindrical main body unit and a bubble generating unit disposed within the main body, wherein: the bubble generating unit is provided with slits extending radially centered on one point within the main body unit in a cross-sectional plane of the main body unit, and a column part protruding from the inner peripheral surface of main body unit and formed on the peripheral edge of the slits; and the amount of protrusion of the column part is gradually reduced toward the upstream side from the peripheral edges of the slits, and the column part has a recessed part formed on the downstream surface.

A microfluidic system (100) may include a set of replaceable microfluidic cartridges (3), each having a mechanically rigid box (202) and a set of parallel microfluidic capillaries (6), and a cooling system (216) that is in thermal contact with the mechanically rigid box (202). A gas stream may flow through the capillaries (6), and an aqueous fluid stream may flow through a space (5) in between an inner surface of the mechanically rigid box (202) and an outer surface of the set of capillaries (6). A method may include providing such a microfluidic system (100), introducing a gas stream through capillaries (6), introducing an aqueous fluid stream to flow through the space (5), generating gas bubbles (218) in the aqueous fluid stream through the capillaries (6), saturating the aqueous fluid stream with gas bubbles (218), recirculating the remaining undissolved gas through a dedicated contour tube and transferring the gas containing the aqueous fluid stream to an external storage unit.

An object of the present invention is to provide a water containing permanganate ions that exist stably over a long period of time and a method for producing the water. A water containing permanganate ions of the present invention as a means for resolution is produced by dissolving 0.1 M to 1 mM of a divalent manganese compound, 0.1 M to 1 mM of an organic iron compound, and 1 to 300 mM of an inorganic salt in a water with ozone-microbubbles generated using an ozone gas at a concentration of 1 to 300 g/Nm.sup.3. The half-life of permanganate ions of the water containing permanganate ions of the present invention is 3 months or longer, for example, when the water filled in an airtight container under atmospheric pressure is stored under a temperature condition of 40 C., and has significantly different properties from a water containing permanganate ions that is produced by dissolving a permanganate compound in water, although the two waters share a common point of containing permanganate ions.

An object of the present invention is to provide an ozone water having enhanced storage stability and a method for producing the ozone water. An ozone water of the present invention as a means for resolution is produced by dissolving 0.1 M to 1 mM of an organic iron compound and 1 to 300 mM of an inorganic salt in a water with ozone-microbubbles generated using an ozone gas at a concentration of 1 to 300 g/Nm.sup.3. The half-life of ozone of the ozone water of the present invention is 3 days or longer, for example, when the water filled in an airtight container under atmospheric pressure is stored under a temperature condition of 40 C.

A flow control arrangement for use with a pump in an aquarium includes a main body having an inlet flow conduit and an outlet flow conduit. The main body has a cylindrical wall having first and second opposite open ends and defining an open interior; and a through hole extending through the wall to the open interior. A flow control dial closes the first open end; and an aeration flow dial closes the second open end and is rotatably adjustable relative to the main body. The aeration flow dial has a tubular aeration wall extending into the open interior. The aeration wall has an aperture, wherein the aeration flow dial can be rotatably adjustable to control axial alignment of the aperture with the through hole in the wall of the main body to selectively adjust a size of a resulting orifice from the open interior of the main body to outside of the main body.