Flotation and separation practice shows that fine hydrophilic solids are often drawn into the froth product. The occurrence of this unwanted event in the classical froth flotation has led to the idea of using it for the separation by size of ground materials. Thus, a method for the extraction of hydrophilic fines by foaming of a suspension was proposed. The aim of the present study is to relate this phenomenon to the residence time of the particles in the vicinities of the rising bubbles. Dynamic interactions of fine solids with rising bubbles cause perturbations in the background flow field. A procedure for the mathematical modeling of these disturbance effects is proposed. The initial idea is that the particles lag behind the background bubble-driven flows. A key point is the possibility of classifying fine entities according to a general criterion, containing only parameters of the outer flow. The basic result is that there exists a range of particle and bubble dimensions for which this entrapment is optimal. The proposed model investigation gives a concise explanation for the observed capture of fine solids in many flotation and separation processes. (C) 2003 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.