AbstractAn experimental apparatus and protocol has been developed in which adsorption of microorganisms to activated charcoal cloth and the influence of various physicochemical parameters, including the effects of externally applied electrical potential, was examined. Unlike Langmuir‐type isotherms which were obtained when Ecoli adsorption was studied in revolving universal tubes, in the stirred cell described here multilayer isotherms were produced. The differences in adsorption trends were possibly due to differences in the hydrodynamic environment. Although under certain conditions long‐range electrostatic and electrodynamic forces seemed to influence adsorption, under the standard experimental conditions used, strong, nonbiological, close‐range interactions were occurring and cation bridging was implicated. Electrical polarisation of the activated charcoal cloth surface did not influence adsorption within the limits examined. Electrochemically induced aggregation in conditions where pH varied was observed, which was enhanced in the presence of MgSO4and was associated with a precipitated material which appeared to bridge between the bacteria and the activated charcoal su
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