To be effective, the protein skimming process requires a contact column in which air and water containing these surfactants can interact. The air and water interfaces are provided by supplying a constant injection of small bubbles to a proportional volume of water in the column and allowing them to mix and then migrate to the surface. At the upper levels of the column most of the water drains away leaving a concentrated residue of foam composed primarily of organic material. The skimming off of this foam waste removes it from the life support system. It is, therefore, no longer susceptable to undesirable microbiological degradation which will contribute to increased oxygen demand in an aquatic system.
Protein skimming is essentially a perpetual backwashing filter.
In addition, skimming enhances the oxygenation of a system both biologically and physically. The addition of a small dose of ozone to the process, with its coagulative and disinfectant properties, makes skimming possibly the best component one could add to a modern life support system.