Particle aggregation

Particle agglomeration refers to formation of assemblages in a suspension and represents a mechanism

leading to the functional destabilization of colloidal systems. During this process, particles dispersed in the
liquid phase stick to each other, and spontaneously form irregular particle assemblates, flocs, or agglomerates.
This phenomenon is also referred to as coagulation or flocculation and such a suspension is also called
unstable. Particle agglomeration can be induced by adding salts or other chemicals referred to as coagulant or
flocculant.[1].

Particle agglomeration can be a reversible

or irreversible process. Particle
agglomerates defined as "hard
agglomerates" are more difficult to
redisperse to the initial single particles. In
the course of agglomeration, the
agglomerates will grow in size, and as a
consequence they may settle to the
bottom of the container, which is referred
to as sedimentation. Alternatively, a
colloidal gel may form in concentrated
suspensions which changes its Scheme of particle agglomeration. Particles are dispersed
rheological properties. The reverse individually in a functionally stable suspension, while they
process whereby particle agglomerates agglomerate in a functionally unstable suspension. As
are re-dispersed as individual particles, agglomeration proceed from early to later states, the agglomerates
referred to as peptization, hardly occurs grow in size, and may eventually gel.
spontaneously, but may occur under
stirring or shear.

Colloidal particles may also remain dispersed in liquids for long periods of time (days to years). This
phenomenon is referred to as colloidal stability and such a suspension is said to be functionally stable. Stable
suspensions are often obtained at low salt concentrations or by addition of chemicals referred to as stabilizers
or stabilizing agents. The stability of particles, colloidal or otherwise, is most commonly evaluated in terms of
zeta potential. This parameter provides a readily quantifiable measure of interparticle repulsion, which is the
key inhibitor of particle aggregation.

Similar agglomeration processes occur in other dispersed systems too. In emulsions, they may also be coupled
to droplet coalescence, and not only lead to sedimentation but also to creaming. In aerosols, airborne particles
may equally aggregate and form larger clusters (e.g., soot).

Contents
Early stages
Later stages
Homoaggregation versus heteroaggregation
Experimental techniques
Relevance
 See also
External links
References

Early stages
A well dispersed colloidal suspension consists of individual, separated particles and is stabilized by repulsive
inter-particle forces. When the repulsive forces weaken or become attractive through the addition of a
coagulant, particles start to aggregate. Initially, particle doublets A2 will form from singlets A1 according to the
scheme[2]

A1 + A1 → A2

In the early stage of the aggregation process, the suspension mainly contains individual particle. The rate of
this phenomenon is characterized by the aggregation rate coefficient k. Since doublet formation is a second
order rate process, the units of this coefficients are m3 s−1 since particle concentrations are expressed as particle
number per unit volume (m−3 ). Since absolute aggregation rates are difficult to measure, one often refers to the
dimensionless stability ratio W = kfast/k where kfast is the aggregation rate coefficient in the fast regime, and k
the coefficient at the conditions of interest. The stability ratio is close to unity in the fast regime, increases in
the slow regime, and becomes very large when the suspension is stable.

Often, colloidal particles are suspended in water. In this case,

they accumulate a surface charge and an electrical double layer
forms around each particle.[3] The overlap between the diffuse
layers of two approaching particles results in a repulsive double
layer interaction potential, which leads to particle stabilization.
When salt is added to the suspension, the electrical double layer
repulsion is screened, and van der Waals attraction become
dominant and induce fast aggregation. The figure on the right
shows the typical dependence of the stability ratio W versus the
electrolyte concentration, whereby the regimes of slow and fast
aggregation are indicated.

The table below summarizes CCC ranges for different net charge
of the counter ion.[4] The charge is expressed in units of Schematic stability plot of a colloidal
elementary charge. This dependence reflects the Schulze–Hardy suspension versus the salt concentration.
rule, [5][6] which states that the CCC varies as the inverse sixth
power of the counter ion charge. The CCC also depends on the
type of ion somewhat, even if they carry the same charge. This dependence may reflect different particle
properties or different ion affinities to the particle surface. Since particles are frequently negatively charged,
multivalent metal cations thus represent highly effective coagulants.

Charge CCC ( × 10−3 mol/L) Adsorption of oppositely charged species (e.g., protons, specifically adsorbing
1 50-300 ions, surfactants, or polyelectrolytes) may destabilize a particle suspension by
charge neutralization or stabilize it by buildup of charge, leading to a fast
2 2-30 aggregation near the charge neutralization point, and slow aggregation away
3 0.03-0.5 from it.
Quantitative interpretation of colloidal stability was first formulated within the DLVO theory.[2] This theory
confirms the existence slow and fast aggregation regimes, even though in the slow regime the dependence on
the salt concentration is often predicted to be much stronger than observed experimentally. The Schulze–Hardy
rule can be derived from DLVO theory as well.

Other mechanisms of colloid stabilization are equally possible, particularly, involving polymers. Adsorbed or
grafted polymers may form a protective layer around the particles, induce steric repulsive forces, and lead to
steric stabilization at it is the case with polycarboxylate ether (PCE), the last generation of chemically tailored
superplasticizer specifically designed to increase the workability of concrete while reducing its water content to
improve its properties and durability. When polymers chains adsorb to particles loosely, a polymer chain may
bridge two particles, and induce bridging forces. This situation is referred to as bridging flocculation.

When particle aggregation is solely driven by diffusion, one refers to perikinetic aggregation. Aggregation can
be enhanced through shear stress (e.g., stirring). The latter case is called orthokinetic aggregation.

Later stages
As the aggregation process continues, larger clusters
form. The growth occurs mainly through encounters
between different clusters, and therefore one refers to
cluster-cluster aggregation process. The resulting clusters
are irregular, but statistically self-similar. They are
examples of mass fractals, whereby their mass M grows
with their typical size characterized by the radius of
gyration Rg as a power-law[2]

Structure of larger aggregates formed can be

where d is the mass fractal dimension. Depending different. In the fast aggregation regime or DLCA
regime, the aggregates are more ramified, while in
whether the aggregation is fast or slow, one refers to
the slow aggregation regime or RLCA regime, the
diffusion limited cluster aggregation (DLCA) or reaction
aggregates are more compact.
limited cluster aggregation (RLCA). The clusters have
different characteristics in each regime. DLCA clusters
are loose and ramified (d ≈ 1.8), while the RLCA
clusters are more compact (d ≈ 2.1).[7] The cluster size distribution is also different in these two regimes.
DLCA clusters are relatively monodisperse, while the size distribution of RLCA clusters is very broad.

The larger the cluster size, the faster their settling velocity. Therefore, aggregating particles sediment and this
mechanism provides a way for separating them from suspension. At higher particle concentrations, the
growing clusters may interlink, and form a particle gel. Such a gel is an elastic solid body, but differs from
ordinary solids by having a very low elastic modulus.

Homoaggregation versus heteroaggregation

When aggregation occurs in a suspension composed of similar monodisperse colloidal particles, the process is
called homoaggregation (or homocoagulation). When aggregation occurs in a suspension composed of
dissimilar colloidal particles, one refers to heteroaggregation (or heterocoagulation). The simplest
heteroaggregation process occurs when two types of monodisperse colloidal particles are mixed. In the early
stages, three types of doublets may form [8]

A + A → A2
 B + B → B2
A + B → AB

While the first two processes correspond to homoaggregation in pure suspensions containing particles A or B,
the last reaction represents the actual heteroaggregation process. Each of these reactions is characterized by the
respective aggregation coefficients kAA, kBB, and kAB. For example, when particles A and B bear positive and
negative charge, respectively, the homoaggregation rates may be slow, while the heteroaggregation rate is fast.
In contrast to homoaggregation, the heteroaggregation rate accelerates with decreasing salt concentration.
Clusters formed at later stages of such heteroaggregation processes are even more ramified that those obtained
during DLCA (d ≈ 1.4).[9]

An important special case of a heteroaggregation process is the deposition of particles on a substrate.[1] Early
stages of the process correspond to the attachment of individual particles to the substrate, which can be pictures
as another, much larger particle. Later stages may reflect blocking of the substrate through repulsive
interactions between the particles, while attractive interactions may lead to multilayer growth, and is also
referred to as ripening. These phenomena are relevant in membrane or filter fouling.

Experimental techniques
Numerous experimental techniques have been developed to study particle aggregation. Most frequently used
are time-resolved optical techniques that are based on transmittance or scattering of light.[10]

Light transmission. The variation of transmitted light through an aggregating suspension can be studied with
a regular spectrophotometer in the visible region. As aggregation proceeds, the medium becomes more turbid,
and its absorbance increases. The increase of the absorbance can be related to the aggregation rate constant k
and the stability ratio can be estimated from such measurements. The advantage of this technique is its
simplicity.

Light scattering. These techniques are based on probing the scattered light from an aggregating suspension in
a time-resolved fashion. Static light scattering yields the change in the scattering intensity, while dynamic light
scattering the variation in the apparent hydrodynamic radius. At early-stages of aggregation, the variation of
each of these quantities is directly proportional to the aggregation rate constant k.[11] At later stages, one can
obtain information on the clusters formed (e.g., fractal dimension).[7] Light scattering works well for a wide
range of particle sizes. Multiple scattering effects may have to be considered, since scattering becomes
increasingly important for larger particles or larger aggregates. Such effects can be neglected in weakly turbid
suspensions. Aggregation processes in strongly scattering systems have been studied with transmittance,
backscattering techniques or diffusing-wave spectroscopy.

Single particle counting. This technique offers excellent resolution, whereby clusters made out of tenths of
particles can be resolved individually.[11] The aggregating suspension is forced through a narrow capillary
particle counter and the size of each aggregate is being analyzed by light scattering. From the scattering
intensity, one can deduce the size of each aggregate, and construct a detailed aggregate size distribution. If the
suspensions contain high amounts of salt, one could equally use a Coulter counter. As time proceeds, the size
distribution shifts towards larger aggregates, and from this variation aggregation and breakup rates involving
different clusters can be deduced. The disadvantage of the technique is that the aggregates are forced through a
narrow capillary under high shear, and the aggregates may disrupt under these conditions.

Indirect techniques. As many properties of colloidal suspensions depend on the state of aggregation of the
suspended particles, various indirect techniques have been used to monitor particle aggregation too. While it
can be difficult to obtain quantitative information on aggregation rates or cluster properties from such
experiments, they can be most valuable for practical applications. Among these techniques settling tests are
most relevant. When one inspects a series of test tubes with suspensions prepared at different concentration of
the flocculant, stable suspensions often remain dispersed, while the unstable ones settle. Automated
instruments based on light scattering/transmittance to monitor suspension settling have been developed, and
they can be used to probe particle aggregation. One must realize, however, that these techniques may not
always reflect the actual aggregation state of a suspension correctly. For example, larger primary particles may
settle even in the absence of aggregation, or aggregates that have formed a colloidal gel will remain in
suspension. Other indirect techniques capable to monitor the state of aggregation include, for example,
filtration, rheology, absorption of ultrasonic waves, or dielectric properties.[10]

Relevance
Particle aggregation is a widespread phenomenon, which spontaneously occurs in nature but is also widely
explored in manufacturing. Some examples include.

Formation of river delta. When river water carrying suspended sediment particles reaches salty water,
particle aggregation may be one of the factors responsible for river delta formation. Charged particles are stable
in river's fresh water containing low levels of salt, but they become unstable in sea water containing high levels
of salt. In the latter medium, the particles aggregate, the larger aggregates sediment, and thus create the river
delta.

Papermaking. Retention aids are added to the pulp to accelerate paper formation. These aids are coagulating
aids, which accelerate the aggregation between the cellulose fibers and filler particles. Frequently, cationic
polyelectrolytes are being used for that purpose.

Water treatment. Treatment of municipal waste water normally includes a phase where fine solid particles are
removed. This separation is achieved by addition of a flocculating or coagulating agent, which induce the
aggregation of the suspended solids. The aggregates are normally separated by sedimentation, leading to
sewage sludge. Commonly used flocculating agents in water treatment include multivalent metal ions (e.g.,
Fe3+ or Al3+), polyelectrolytes, or both.

Cheese making. The key step in cheese production is the separation of the milk into solid curds and liquid
whey. This separation is achieved by inducing the aggregation processes between casein micelles by
acidifying the milk or adding rennet. The acidification neutralizes the carboxylate groups on the micelles and
induces the aggregation.

See also
Aerosol Nanoparticle
Colloid Particle deposition
Clarifying agent Peptization
Double layer forces Reaction rate
DLVO theory (stability of colloids) Settling
Electrical double layer Smoluchowski coagulation equation
Emulsion Sol-gel
Flocculation Surface charge
Gel Suspension (chemistry)

External links
in Microgravity (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0kteyMDnwE%7CAgglomeration)
References
1. M. Elimelech, J. Gregory, X. Jia, R. Williams, Particle Deposition and Aggregation:
Measurement, Modelling and Simulation, Butterworth-Heinemann, 1998.
2. W. B. Russel, D. A. Saville, W. R. Schowalter,Colloidal Dispersions,Cambridge University
Press, 1989.
3. D. F. Evans, H. Wennerstrom, The Colloidal Domain, John Wiley, 1999.
4. Tezak, B.; Matijevic, E.; Schuiz, K. F. (1955). "Coagulation of Hydrophobic Sols in Statu
Nascendi. III. The Influence of the Ionic Size and Valency of the Counterion". The Journal of
Physical Chemistry. 59 (8): 769–773. doi:10.1021/j150530a018 (https://doi.org/10.1021%2Fj15
0530a018). ISSN 0022-3654 (https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0022-3654).
5. Gold Book IUPAC. Schulze–Hardy rule: "The generalization that the critical coagulation
concentration for a typical lyophobic sol is extremely sensitive to the valence of the counter-
ions (high valence gives a low critical coagulation concentration)". Source: PAC, 1972, 31, 577
(Manual of Symbols and Terminology for Physicochemical Quantities and Units, Appendix II:
Definitions, Terminology and Symbols in Colloid and Surface Chemistry) on page 610. (https://
goldbook.iupac.org/S05501-plain.html)
6. Gold Book IUPAC (1997). Schulze–Hardy rule. IUPAC Compendium of Chemical Terminology
2nd Edition (1997). (http://old.iupac.org/goldbook/S05501.pdf)
7. M. Y. Lin; H. M. Lindsay; D. A. Weitz; R. C. Ball; R. Klein; P. Meakin (1989). "Universality in
colloid aggregation" (http://weitzlab.seas.harvard.edu/files/weitzlab/files/1989_nature_lin.pdf)
(PDF). Nature. pp. 360–362. Bibcode:1989Natur.339..360L (https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/
1989Natur.339..360L). doi:10.1038/339360a0 (https://doi.org/10.1038%2F339360a0).
8. James, Robert O.; Homola, Andrew; Healy, Thomas W. (1977). "Heterocoagulation of
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Chemistry in Condensed Phases. 73 (0): 1436. doi:10.1039/f19777301436 (https://doi.org/10.1
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"Linear chains and chain-like fractals from electrostatic heteroaggregation". Journal of Colloid
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11. Holthoff, Helmut; Schmitt, Artur; Fernández-Barbero, Antonio; Borkovec, Michal; Cabrerı́zo-
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