The adsorptive bubble separation of zinc and cadmium cations from solution in the presence of ferric and aluminum hydroxides was carried out by means of Tween 80 (nonionic surfactant), and sodium laurate and stearate (anionic surfactants). The mechanism of metal removal is different depending on the nature of the surfactant used. The removal of zinc cations by adsorbing colloid flotation is higher than that of cadmium cations. It increases with increases in the amount of hydroxide precipitate and the concentration of Tween 80. The removal of zinc cations by ion flotation is lower than that of cadmium cations. It does not change with increases in the hydroxide amount. It increases, however, with increased sodium laurate or stearate concentration. Both separation methods turned out to be helpful for studying both the solution's structure and the interactions at the solution-solid interface. (c) 2005 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.