PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an apparatus and a method for generating microbubbles, which allow an improvement in white turbidity by drastically increasing the amount of microbubbles to be generated, by a simple constitution.SOLUTION: The apparatus for generating microbubbles is characterized in that an air-dissolved aqueous fluid with air dissolved under pressure, in the water, is discharged from a discharge nozzle 30 by releasing the pressure of the air-dissolved aqueous fluid by a decompression means 12 while generating microbubbles. The discharge nozzle 30 is provided with: a bubble generation flow passage zone part 131 a bubble burst flow passage zone part 133 and a vaporization flow passage zone part 132. The cross-sectional area of a flow passage at the downstream-side end of the vaporization flow passage zone part 132 is made smaller than those of flow passages in other portions of the vaporization flow passage zone part 132 by a narrow flow passage forming member 38.COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT【課題】簡単な構成で微細気泡の発生量を大幅に増加させることで、白濁性を向上させることができる微細気泡発生装置および微細気泡発生方法を提供する。【解決手段】水中に空気が加圧溶解された気水溶解流体を減圧手段12で圧力開放して、微細気泡を発生させながら吐出ノズル30から吐出させる微細気泡生装置であって、前記吐出ノズル30には、気泡発生流路領域部131と、気泡分裂流路領域部133と、気化流路領域部132とを備えている。また、流路狭小形成部材38によって、気化流路領域部132における下流側端部の流路断面積が、気化流路領域部132の他の部分の流路断面積よりも小さくされている。【選択図】図6
