Flocculation in Natural and Engineered Environmental Systems

Flocculation is a dominant process in aquatic environments, fundamental to water and wastewater treatment systems. Environmental and economic consequences of flocculation include sedimentation and contaminant transport, which can bring about habitat destructions and affect human health via deterioration of source waters. Understanding the production and behavior of flocs is essential for predicting the fate and effects of particulate material in natural aquatic systems and in the operation of engineered systems.These interests have generated an increased emphasis on floc research. While new developments in sampling, microscopy, molecular science, and modeling permit increasingly revealing investigations into flocculation processes and floc structure, there is still a fundamental lack of knowledge related to many aspects of this phenomenon. Flocculation in Natural and Engineered Environmental Systems is composed of 20 peer-reviewed, stand-alone chapters presented by a prominent team of international experts. The book focuses on physical and chemical aspects, and on the growing importance of biological processes for flocculation. It examines transport and settling, biology and metabolism, modeling, and the structural and behavioral differences between environments.Flocculation in Natural and Engineered Environmental Systems offers a unique perspective by interrelating the study of flocculation in freshwater, saltwater, and engineered systems with the methods, theories, and principles of flocculation processes. In doing so, the authors reveal the full range of sampling, handling, analytical, and interpretive options for operational management of natural and engineered systems.