The FineFuture project, a consortium of 16 partners from industry and science, is to look at the flotation phenomena used to separate out vital raw materials and to research and develop new technological solutions.

No less than three groups at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) are working to improve the yield of fine particle flotation: not only the Instituite of Fluid Dynamics, but also colleagues from the Department of Computational Fluid Dynamics and a research group led by Dr. Martin Rudolph. Using model experiments, newly developed measurement methods and computer simulations, they investigate flow conditions in the flotation bath, which cannot be seen from the outside, and how particles, fluids and gas bubbles interact.

Some of the partners are members of the NetFlot network, which was established three years ago in a bid to pool competence on flotation at the European level and to strengthen its presence on the international arena.