Particle removal by coagulation and settling from a waste plume

Oceanic and coastal waters have long been used for disposal of human wastes, such as treated sewage, sewage sludge, dredged sediments from harbors, and more recently, drilling fluids from offshore oil exploration and deep-ocean bottom sediments that are resuspended by mining activities. These wastes contain pollutants mainly in the particulate fraction. Because most organic matter is particulate matter, toxic metals are either present as sulfide precipitates or adsorbed onto other particles, and suspended particles themselves are viewed as pollutants if an increase in turbidity is apparent. Thus, to analyze waste-disposal practices, an accurate prediction is needed for the fate of waste particles. This paper demonstrates how particle coagulation can be incorporated into models for predicting the fate of particulate wastes that are discharged into oceanic waters