Effects of Ionic Surfactants on the Settling Velocity of Fine Cohesive Sediments in Yangtze River

The extensive use of surfactants is known to have some effect on the process of sediment motivation.. However, the influence of ionic surfactants on the settling velocity of natural particles is unclear. This paper examines the effect of ionic surfactants on the settling velocity of sediments studied by repeating the highly pipetting method. The settling velocity, Zeta potential and surface tension were tested in order to learn the influence. The results show that: (1) Anionic surfactants have little effect on the sedimentation rate of fine sediment. (2) Cationic surfactants accelerate flocculation of fine sediment by change the surface potential of natural particles.