泡沫分离技术可用于分离各种物质——小到离子而至粗大的矿石颗粒。泡沫浮选法精选矿石已有60年以上的历史。虽然1937年Langmuir等已发现离子也有可能应用浮选来提取,可是直到1959年才由Sebba提出泡沫浮选也可能应用于分析技术中。但实际应用于分析分离还只是近十年左右才实现的。到目前为止已对Ag、As、Au、Be、Bi、Cd、Ce、Co、Cr、Cu、F、Fe、Hg、In、Mn、Mo、Ni、Pb、Pd、Pm、Ra、Re、Sb、Th、U、V、W等元素以及一些有机物的泡沫分离作了广泛的研究。由于从水溶液分离痕量重金属和其他污染物质应用泡沫分离方法易实现,因此可以预料,泡沫分离技术势必将逐步发展成为一种从很稀的溶液中分离 Foam separation technology can be used to separate a variety of substances - from small ions to coarse ore particles. Foam flotation method has been selected ore more than 60 years of history. Although Langmuir et al. (1937) have found it possible to extract ions using flotation, it was not until 1959 that Sebba proposed that froth flotation might also be applied to analytical techniques. However, the actual application in analysis and separation is only achieved in about ten years or so. Up to now, Ag, As, Au, Be, Bi, Cd, Ce, Co, Cr, Cu, F, Fe, Hg, In, Mn, Mo, Ni, Pb, Pd, Pm, Ra, Re, Sb , Th, U, V, W and some other organic matter and the foam separation has been extensively studied. Since the separation of trace amounts of heavy metals and other pollutants from aqueous solutions using foam separation is easy to achieve, it is expected that the foam separation technology is bound to gradually evolve into a separation from very dilute solutions