Colloid Deposition and Aggregation in the Presence of Charged Collectors

• Author / Creator

  Sadri, Behnam

• Colloidal-collector interactions are of fundamental importance in separation and filtration technologies. Here, the effect of collector grains on the behavior of colloidal particles was studied in two different experimental systems, i.e., column studies with stationary collectors and batch mixing to study hetero aggregation. Polystyrene latex beads, 100 nm diameter, and soda lime glass beads, with two different diameters of 212-300 $\mu$m and 710-1180 $\mu$m, were employed as colloidal particles and collector grains, respectively. Column experiments were performed to understand fate of colloidal particles in the porous medium. There are three major phenomena that control colloidal transport in porous media: Deposition, aggregation, and straining. These three distinct types of particle dynamics in porous media were studied by adjusting physicochemical properties of colloidal suspension. Furthermore, the effect of washing the collector beads was studied. Batch experiments, in which known amount of collector grains are added to colloidal suspension with known concentration, are designed to investigate more collector-colloids interaction role in transport dynamics of colloidal particles. UV-Vis spectroscopy and dynamic light scattering techniques are employed to understand both deposition and aggregation of colloidal particles in the vicinity of collector grains. Results obtained by dynamic light scattering revealed that aggregation is the predominant factor in this colloidal system. The possible sources for this type of behavior are also tackled by undertaking controlled experiments. In the batch experiments, ions leaching from the surface of glass beads, effect of mixing, and glass beads presence are confirmed as the three major reasons behind the aggregation of colloidal particles.

• Subjects / Keywords

  • Ion release
  • Polystyrene
  • Colloidal particles
  • Straining
  • Mixing
  • Aggregation
  • Column experiment
  • Collector
  • Deposition
  • Glass beads
  • Batch experiment

• Graduation date

  Spring 2015

• Type of Item

  Thesis

• Degree

  Master of Science

• DOI

  https://doi.org/10.7939/R3HQ3S660

• License

  This thesis is made available by the University of Alberta Libraries with permission of the copyright owner solely for non-commercial purposes. This thesis, or any portion thereof, may not otherwise be copied or reproduced without the written consent of the copyright owner, except to the extent permitted by Canadian copyright law.