Bubble investment by Fusion IP

Perlemax, a bubble technology firm set up on the invention of Professor Will Zimmerman, chair of Biochemical Dynamical Systems at the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, has been formed as part of Fusion's exclusive agreement with the university.

The firm enables the "super efficient generation" of micro-sized bubbles of gas in a liquid.

Fusion IP, based in Sheffield, said the novel fluidic oscillator, although highly technical, acts in a similar way to a child blowing bubbles with soap bubble makers.

"Blow continuously and long, large bubbles are possible, but blow with short, sharp puffs and a series of small bubbles are created, of the size of the hole they emerge from.

"This takes less energy and the smaller bubbles have intensified chemical processing properties, due to the much greater surface area per unit volume.

"When the Perlemax oscillator is connected to a suitable mesh and immersed in a liquid, it creates a super efficient, dense mist of micro bubbles that enables the rapid transfer of gas into or out of a liquid, without the need of any moving parts."

Fusion IP said micro bubbles are considered by many to be one of the most sought-after properties in chemical engineering, because they dramatically increase the rate of transfer of gas into a liquid over conventional sized bubbles and do so with no energy penalty.

The Perlemax technology has the potential to dramatically reduce the energy demands of essential chemical processes such as those employed in water purification, wastewater treatment, biodiesel manufacture and carbon sequestration.

Fusion will start with a 60 per cent shareholding in Perlemax but said that given the investment profile of the company, it is expected that the longer term shareholding will be between 30 and 40 per cent.

David Baynes, chief executive of Fusion IP, said: "This is another example of the world leading technology being generated at the University of Sheffield.

"Prof Zimmerman's fluidic oscillator has huge potential to make dramatic energy savings in a number of key chemical process industries and we are excited at the potential of this new company."

Professor Zimmerman, founder of Perlemax, said: "The potential for large energy savings with our microbubble generation approach is huge, particularly in commodity chemicals production for gas dissolution and dissolved gas extraction, where energy savings could enhance profitability.

"There are many routes to becoming green, and reducing energy consumption with the same or better performance must be the most painless."