SEDIMENTATION OF FINE PARTICLES

The sedimentation of metallurgical slimes has been studied by Coe and Clevenger12 , who concluded that a concentrated suspension may settle in one of two different ways. 

The main reasons for the modification of the settling rate of particles in a concentrated suspension are as follows  

Several attempts have been made to predict the apparent settling velocity of a concentrated suspension. In 1926 Robinson(3) suggested a modification of Stokes law and used the density (pc) and viscosity (p.c) of the suspension in place of the properties of the fluid to give  

The effective buoyancy force is readily calculated since  

Robinson determined the viscosity of the suspension pc experimentally, although it may be obtained approximately from the following formula of Einstein 4  

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A muddy bottom predominates on the slow sections of streams enabling sedimentation of fine particles. Communities in the mud with a high content of organic matter are more numerous as regards population, but on the other hand, in the muds poorer in organic matters more species occur... 

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