An experimental study of the influence of weak convection on perikinetic coagulation

A remarkably increased coagulation rate for 2-mu m PS spheres was previously reported for a perikinetic coagulation experiment performed under microgravity conditions (1998, R. Folkersma, A. J. G. van Diemen, and H. N. Stein, J. Colloid Interface Sci. 206, 482); from this experiment, it was assumed that the leading factor slowing the coagulation process under normal gravitation was free convection due to gravity (1998, R. Folkersma, and H. N. Stein, J. Colloid Interface Sci. 206, 494). To test the influence of free convection as a single-effect factor on the coagulation process, a ground-based experiment was constructed. The coagulation rate of 2-mu m PS spheres dispersed in water was determined by measuring the turbidity of the dispersion solution while convection-driven flows in the solution were checked with a visual magnification system. We found that it was possible to cease free convection-driven particle flows on the ground, as long as the experiments were carefully operated. The strength of convection was controlled by changing the temperature gradient applied to the sample cell. By monitoring both the coagulation rate and convection-driven flows simultaneously, our experiments showed that weak free convection (maximum speed <150 mu m/s) actually has negligible effects on the coagulation rate.