INFLUENCE OF MOTILE BACTERIA ON THE BEHAVIOR OF SUSPENSIONS

The results of the study of processes in aqueous suspensions of quartz containing motile forms of bacteria are presented. It was found that bacteria can both increase the mobility of separate particles of the dispersed phase and substantially affect the behavior of the suspension as a whole. The most important property of such bacteria is their ability to affect the aggregation stability of the suspension, thus causing the formation of multiparticle aggregates therein. Some approaches to the explanation of the mechanisms of the observed phenomena are proposed.