Summary
Polymers are used in a number of industries to improve solid-liquid separation. While polymer conformation has been considered to be an important parameter in determining the flocculation/dispersion characteristics of fines, no experimental study that correlates the conformation to flocculation/dispersion in terms of the important flocculation/dispersion responses such as sediment characteristics, sediment volume and supernatant clarity has been reported in the literature. We have developed a multi-pronged approach involving a study of polymer conformation on solids using fluorescence along with adsorption density and zeta potential in order to understand the behavior of various sedimentation characteristics mentioned above. We are currently extending this study to include relevant filtration parameters. Information obtained from these studies should prove useful in identifying conditions under which enhanced solid-liquid separation by either sedimentation or filtration can be achieved using polymer flocculation .