Aiming at the development of a low-cost technology for multipurpose water and surface treatment in the chemical industry and beyond, using microbubbles, a novel scheme of liquid-gas interaction within a specially designed bubble generator was tested. Its efficiency for the production of microbubbles with a size distribution in the micron range is confirmed. The basic element of the device is a vortex chamber with water supply through tangential ducts, while the gas (air) is introduced in a highly turbulent swirling flow of water in radial direction through the orifice in the gas supply duct, located on the chamber axis. Bubble diameters, bubble velocities in the pipe flow and effect of the output pressure on the bubble size distribution were studied.