Coagulation and Flocculation Studies

Coagulation and flocculation are the chemical and physical processes used to destabilize and aggregate suspended particles in water, allowing them to be separated from the liquid phase — a step central to both drinking water purification and industrial wastewater treatment. Researchers study how different agents, including metal salts, synthetic polymers, and naturally derived coagulants, interact with contaminants such as fine sediments, natural organic matter, and microbial cells to form larger, settleable clusters called flocs. Growing interest has turned toward engineered nanoparticles and nanostructured materials as next-generation flocculants, given their high surface area and tunable chemistry, though questions remain about their cost-effectiveness, scalability, and potential environmental fate. A parallel challenge is improving the dewatering of the residual sludge these processes generate, since reducing sludge volume has significant implications for energy use and disposal costs in treatment facilities.

Works

25,102

Total citations

363,804

Keywords

CoagulationFlocculationWater TreatmentNanoparticlesDewateringPolymer