Editing Flocculation (section)

{{short description|Process by which colloidal particles come out of suspension to precipitate as floc or flake}}
{{redirect|Flocculent|the galaxy type|Flocculent spiral galaxy}}
{{Quote box
 |title =[[International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry|IUPAC]] definition<ref name="goldbook.iupac.org">{{cite journal|title=Terminology of polymers and polymerization processes in dispersed systems (IUPAC Recommendations 2011)|journal=[[Pure and Applied Chemistry]]|year=2011|volume=83|issue=12|pages=2229–2259|doi=10.1351/PAC-REC-10-06-03|url=http://pac.iupac.org/publications/pac/pdf/2011/pdf/8312x2229.pdf|last1=Slomkowski|first1=Stanislaw|last2=Alemán|first2=José V.|last3=Gilbert|first3=Robert G.|last4=Hess|first4=Michael|last5=Horie|first5=Kazuyuki|last6=Jones|first6=Richard G.|last7=Kubisa|first7=Przemyslaw|last8=Meisel|first8=Ingrid|last9=Mormann|first9=Werner|last10=Penczek|first10=Stanisław|last11=Stepto|first11=Robert F. T.|s2cid=96812603|access-date=2013-07-27|archive-date=2013-10-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131020164408/http://pac.iupac.org/publications/pac/pdf/2011/pdf/8312x2229.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>
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 |quote = '''Flocculation (in polymer science)''': Reversible formation of aggregates in which the particles are not in physical contact.
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'''Agglomeration (except in polymer science)'''<br />'''Coagulation (except in polymer science)'''<br />'''Flocculation (except in polymer science)'''<br />Process of contact and adhesion whereby dispersed molecules or particles are held together by weak physical interactions ultimately leading to phase separation by the formation of precipitates of larger than colloidal size.
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* In contrast to aggregation, agglomeration is a reversible process.
* The definition proposed here is recommended for distinguishing agglomeration from aggregation. The particles that comprise agglomerates can be dispersed again.
* This quotation is from [[Compendium of Macromolecular Nomenclature|the Purple Book]] (Compendium of Polymer Terminology and Nomenclature: IUPAC Recommendations, 2008).<ref>{{cite book|title=Compendium of Polymer Terminology and Nomenclature (IUPAC Recommendations 2008) "The Purple Book"|year=2009|publisher=RSC Publishing|isbn=978-0-85404-491-7|edition=2nd|editor1=Richard G. Jones |editor2=Edward S. Wilks |editor3=W. Val Metanomski |editor4=Jaroslav Kahovec |editor5=Michael Hess |editor6=Robert Stepto |editor7=Tatsuki Kitayama }}</ref>}}
[[File:Flocculation settling time edited 0.webm|thumb|4x speed video of floc settling after adding flocculant polymers during a [[jar test]].]]

In [[colloidal chemistry]], '''flocculation''' is a process by which [[colloid]]al particles come out of [[Suspension (chemistry)|suspension]] to sediment in the form of floc or flake, either spontaneously or due to the addition of a [[clarifying agent]]. The action differs from [[Precipitation (chemistry)|precipitation]] in that, prior to flocculation, colloids are merely suspended, under the form of a stable dispersion (where the internal phase (solid) is dispersed throughout the external phase (fluid) through mechanical agitation) and are not truly dissolved in [[Solution (chemistry)|solution]].

[[Coagulation (water treatment)|Coagulation]] and flocculation are important processes in fermentation and water treatment with coagulation aimed to destabilize and aggregate particles through chemical interactions between the coagulant and colloids, and flocculation to sediment the destabilized particles by causing their aggregation into floc.{{Clarify|date=November 2020}}