Flocculation 1

Flocculation
Flocculation is, in the field of chemistry, a process where colloids come out of suspension in the form of floc or
flakes. The action differs from precipitation in that, prior to flocculation, colloids are merely suspended in a liquid
and not actually dissolved in a solution. In the flocculated system there is no formation of a cake since all the flocs
are in the suspension.

Term definition
According to the IUPAC definition, flocculation is "a process of contact and adhesion whereby the particles of a
dispersion form larger-size clusters." Flocculation is synonymous with agglomeration and coagulation.[1]

Applications

Surface chemistry
In colloid chemistry, flocculation refers to the process by which fine particulates are caused to clump together into
floc. The floc may then float to the top of the liquid, settle to the bottom of the liquid, or can be readily filtered from
the liquid.

Physical chemistry
For emulsions, flocculation describes clustering of individual dispersed droplets together, whereby the individual
droplets do not lose their identity.[2] Flocculation is thus the initial step leading to further aging of the emulsion
(droplet coalescence and the ultimate separation of the phases).

Civil engineering/earth sciences

In civil engineering, and in the earth sciences, flocculation is a condition in which clays, polymers or other small
charged particles become attached and form a fragile structure, a floc. In dispersed clay slurries, flocculation occurs
after mechanical agitation ceases and the dispersed clay platelets spontaneously form flocs because of attractions
between negative face charges and positive edge charges.

Biology
In biology, the process is used to refer to the asexual aggregation of microorganisms.

Cheese production
Flocculation is widely employed to measure the progress of curd formation while in the initial stages of making
many cheeses to determine how long the curds must set.[3] [4] The reaction involving the rennet micelles are modeled
by Smoluchowski Kinetics.[3]

Brewing
Flocculation is used to measure the progress of brewing yeast at the end of a brew.

Water treatment
Flocculation and sedimentation are widely employed in the purification of drinking water as well as sewage
treatment, stormwater treatment and treatment of other industrial wastewater streams.
Flocculation 2

Flocculants
Particles finer than 0.1 µm (10-7m) in water remain continuously in motion due to electrostatic charge (often
negative) which causes them to repel each other. Once their electrostatic charge is neutralized by the use of
coagulant chemical, the finer particles start to collide and agglomerate (combine together) under the influence of Van
der Waals's forces. These larger and heavier particles are called flocs.
Flocculants, or flocculating agents (also known as flocking agents), are chemicals that promote flocculation by
causing colloids and other suspended particles in liquids to aggregate, forming a floc. Flocculants are used in water
treatment processes to improve the sedimentation or filterability of small particles. For example, a flocculant may be
used in swimming pool or drinking water filtration to aid removal of microscopic particles which would otherwise
cause the water to be turbid (cloudy) and which would be difficult or impossible to remove by filtration alone.
Many flocculants are multivalent cations such as aluminium, iron, calcium or magnesium.[5] These positively
charged molecules interact with negatively charged particles and molecules to reduce the barriers to aggregation. In
addition, many of these chemicals, under appropriate pH and other conditions such as temperature and salinity, react
with water to form insoluble hydroxides which, upon precipitating, link together to form long chains or meshes,
physically trapping small particles into the larger floc.
Long-chain polymer flocculants, such as modified polyacrylamides, are manufactured and sold by the flocculant
producing business. These can be supplied in dry or liquid form for use in the flocculation process. The most
common liquid polyacrylamide is supplied as an emulsion with 10-40% actives and the rest is a carrier fluid,
surfactants and latex. Emulsion polymers require activation to invert the emulsion and allow the electrolyte groups to
be exposed.
The following chemicals are used as flocculants:
• alum
• aluminium chlorohydrate
• aluminium sulfate
• calcium oxide
• calcium hydroxide
• iron(II) sulfate
• iron(III) chloride
• polyacrylamide
• polyDADMAC
• sodium aluminate
• sodium silicate
The following natural products are used as flocculants:[6]
• Chitosan
• Isinglass
• Moringa oleifera seeds (Horseradish Tree)
• Gelatin
• Strychnos potatorum seeds (Nirmali nut tree)
• Guar gum
• Alginates (brown seaweed extracts)
Flocculation 3

Deflocculation
• A deflocculant is a chemical that is added to prevent a colloid from coming out of suspension. (In this case
deflocculation is a desired effect).
• Deflocculation is also used to describe the undesired effect in an activated sludge basin if the sludge is subjected
to high-speed mixing. Generally, deflocculation can be prevented or reduced by applying gentle mixing(e.g., by
using submersible propeller mixers that utilize large/wide propeller blades and operate at low rotational speed).

See also
• Aggregation
• Algaculture
• Clay-water interaction
• Coagulation (disambiguation)
• Deflocculant
• Drilling mud
• Isoelectric point
• Lamella clarifier
• Seawater
• Sedimentation
• Soil structure
• Yeast flocculation

Further reading
• John Gregory (2006) Particles in water: properties and processes, Taylor & Francis, ISBN 1-58716-085-4

References
[1] International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry. " flocculation (http:/ / goldbook. iupac. org/ F02429. html)". Compendium of Chemical
Terminology Internet edition.
[2] Adamson A.W. and Gast A.P. (1997) "Physical Chemistry of Surfaces", John Wiley and Sons.
[3] Fox, Patrick F. (1999). Cheese Volume 1: Chemistry, Physics, and Microbiology (2nd ed.). Gaithersburg, Maryland: Aspen Publishers.
pp. 144–150. ISBN 0412 53500.
[4] Journal of Scientific and Industrial Research 57: 680–681. 1998.
[5] Global Health and Education Foundation (2007). "Conventional Coagulation-Flocculation-Sedimentation" (http:/ / drinking-water. org/ html/
en/ Treatment/ Coagulation-Flocculation-technologies. html). Safe Drinking Water is Essential. National Academy of Sciences. . Retrieved
2007-12-01.
[6] P. Somasundaran "Encyclopedia of surface and colloid science, Volume 7, pp 4980-4982."
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Article Sources and Contributors

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