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Encyclopedia of Estuaries pp 327–329Cite as

Flocculation

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Part of the Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series book series (EESS)

Synonyms

Aggregation; Coagulation

Definition

Flocculation is a process of contact and adhesion whereby dispersed particles are held together by weak physical interactions.

Introduction

Flocculation has been widely used in water and wastewater treatment applications mainly for clarification and reduction of suspended solids, respectively. Recently, it has also been used as a cost-effective method for harvesting microalgae for biomass for production of food, feed, fuel, or chemicals (Vandamme et al., 2013). Aside from these applications, in situ flocculation has also been studied for years to understand sediment transport in different aquatic environments. In this regard, Eisma (1986) defined flocculation as a natural process by which suspended particles are brought together into larger units called flocs.

Flocculation or floc formation depends on the physical collision between suspended matter and their adhesion (Alldredge and Jackson, 1995; Hansen et al., 1995). Droppo (2001)...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Nannoworks Laboratory, National Institute of Geological Sciences, University of the Philippines Diliman, CP Garcia corner Velasquez St, 1101, Quezon City, Philippines

    Dorothy Joyce D. Marquez

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  1. Dorothy Joyce D. Marquez
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Correspondence to Dorothy Joyce D. Marquez .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA

    Michael J. Kennish

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Marquez, D.J.D. (2016). Flocculation. In: Kennish, M.J. (eds) Encyclopedia of Estuaries. Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-8801-4_214

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