Column Flotation Patents: Who Leads, Where the Gaps Are 2026
Column Flotation and Fine Particle Recovery Patents
One assignee holds 158 of 231 records. the top 5 combined account for 90.9% of all filings in scope, leaving a thin tail below them. Filings ran from 7 in 2017 to a peak of 98 in 2018, then eased through the following years. The tracked 2021 (18) to 2024 (14) window shows a 22% decline; 2025 and 2026 figures will keep revising upward as publication catches up to filing dates.
- 1METSO OUTOTEC FINLAND OY158
- 2RENEWABLE ALGAL ENERGY LLC17
- 3ERIEZ MANUFACTURING CO14
- 4OUTOTEC FINDLAND OY12
- 5VIRGINIA TECH INTELLECTUAL PROPERTIES INC9
See the full column flotation and fine particle recovery analysis in Eureka
- The complete ranking, not just the top five
- Every IPC branch with its share of the corpus
- The most-cited records, and where claim space is still thin
Common questions on this landscape
Who holds the most column flotation patents?
One assignee holds 158 of the 231 records in this dataset, roughly five times the combined volume of the next four ranked companies. That single company also accounts for essentially all of the most recent year’s filing activity, showing a +1100% year-over-year jump. Any freedom-to-operate review in this space should start by mapping that one portfolio in detail before looking at the rest of the ranked field.
Is column flotation patent filing growing or shrinking?
Filing peaked in 2018 at 98 records and has since declined; the most recent complete comparison, 2021 (18) to 2024 (14), shows a 22% drop. Figures for 2025 and 2026 are still incomplete because publication typically lags filing by around 18 months, so those years will revise upward over time. Treat the recent apparent slowdown as partly a data-lag artifact rather than a confirmed trend.
What does US5814210A actually cover?
US5814210A, assigned to Virginia Tech Intellectual Properties, claims apparatus and process for separating hydrophobic and hydrophilic particles using microbubble column flotation, including countercurrent wash water froth washing and specific microbubble generation methods using porous tubes or in-line static generators. It sits among the four most-cited records in this dataset, with citation counts from related family members ranging from 85 to 150. Anyone designing a microbubble-based column flotation system should review this family’s claim scope closely before finalizing bubble generation or wash water mechanisms.
Disclaimer. This analysis is based on Patsnap Eureka data drawn from a limited snapshot of global patent records and is provided for general information and reference only. Patent data carries inherent limitations — recent filings are under-counted because of publication lag, counts may be on a record or family basis, classification and applicant-name data may contain errors or duplicates, and the underlying search query defines the scope shown — so the analysis may be incomplete or inaccurate and may not reflect the full technology landscape.
Nothing here is an exhaustive prior-art, novelty, freedom-to-operate or validity search, nor does it constitute legal, financial or professional advice, and it should not be relied upon as such. Verify independently and review with qualified patent and legal professionals before acting on it.
Method: Filing trend and technology composition. Derived from a Patsnap search on Column Flotation and Fine Particle Recovery covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-07-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish. Every share divides by all records in scope. Data: Patsnap Eureka. See the full landscape report.