2000 Volume 37 Issue 4 Pages 253-259
Equilibrium agglomerate diameter in wet spherical agglomeration was investigated at various concentrations of added surface active agent and the addition ratios of bridging liquid. Spherical polyethylene particles, castor oil and sodium oleate were used respectively as the raw particles, the bridging liquid and the surface active agent. The addition of surface active agent to disperse medium modified both the interfacial tension between bridging liquid and disperse medium and the contact angle of bridging liquid on raw particles, and therefore affected the agglomeration phenomena. The relationship between the equilibrium agglomerate diameter and the factors affecting wet spherical agglomeration was well explained by the theoretical model, which takes into account the balance between the cohesive force by capillary suction potential and the destructive force by agitation.
