Assessment of Influence of Magnetic Forces on Aggregation of Zero-valent Iron Nanoparticles

Aggregation of zero-valent nanoparticles in groundwater is influenced by several physical phenomena. The article shortly introduces preceding works in modeling of aggregation of small particles including influence of sedimentation, velocity profile of water, heat fluctuations, and surface electric charge. A brief description of inclusion of magnetic forces into the model of aggregation follows. Rate of influence of the magnetic forces on the aggregation depends on the magnitude of magnetization of the particles, radius of nanoparticles, size of the aggregates, and their concentration in the solution. Presented results show that the magnetic forces have significant influence on aggregation especially of the smallest iron particles.