Comparison between Deflocculated and Flocculated System

Comparison between Deflocculated and Flocculated System

Deflocculated System
i) Pleasant appearance, because of uniform dispersion of particles.
ii) Supernatant remains cloudy.
iii) Particles exist as separate entities
iv) Rate of sedimentation is slow, as the size of particles are small.
v) Particles settle independently and separately
vi) The sedimentation is closely packed and form a hard cake.
vii) The hard cake cannot be redispersed.
viii)Bioavailability is higher due to large specific surface area.

Flocculated System
i) Somewhat unsightly sediment.
ii) Supernatant is clear
iii) Particles form loose aggregates.
iv) Rate is high, as flocs are the collection of smaller particles having a larger size.
v) Particles settle as flocs.
vi) Sediment is a loosely packed network and hard cake cannot form.
vii) The sediment is easy to redisperse.
viii)Bioavailability is comparatively less due to small specific surface area.