Abstract
Direct measurements of the aggregation rates of natural particles can help to explain the behaviour of material suspended in natural waters, and are a stringent test of predictions from model studies. The iron oxide which accumulates each summer in Esthwaite Water in Cumbria, UK is a natural colloid consisting of a sufficiently homogeneous population of particles to allow such direct measurements to be made. Here we show that, at initial particle concentrations (n0) characteristic of those in the lake (1010–1011 dm−3), the colloid stability of the iron oxide is governed by the opposing forces of van der Waals' attraction and electrostatic repulsion, as predicted from model experiments on synthetic haematite particles coated with aquatic humic substances. However, at higher particle concentrations and with Ca2+ concentrations greater than 0.01 mol dm−3 it is found that the aggregation rate constant depends on n0, possibly indicating the participation of bridging flocculation in the aggregation process under these conditions.
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Tipping, E., Ohnstad, M. Colloid stability of iron oxide particles from a freshwater lake. Nature 308, 266–268 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1038/308266a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/308266a0
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