Flocculation

prefLabel
  • flocculation
definition
  • A process of contact and adhesion whereby the particles of a dispersed substance form large clusters or the aggregation of particles in a colloid to form small lumps, which then settle out.
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Abstract from DBPedia
    Flocculation, in the field of chemistry, is a process by which colloidal particles come out of suspension to sediment under the form of floc or flake, either spontaneously or due to the addition of a clarifying agent. The action differs from precipitation in that, prior to flocculation, colloids are merely suspended, under the form of a stable dispersion (where the internal phase (solid) is dispersed throughout the external phase (fluid) through mechanical agitation) and are not truly dissolved in solution. Coagulation and flocculation are important processes in water treatment with coagulation aimed to destabilize and aggregate particles through chemical interactions between the coagulant and colloids, and flocculation to sediment the destabilized particles by causing their aggregation into floc.

    (Source: http://dbpedia.org/resource/Flocculation)