Suspended Solids

Definition

Materials water does not dissolve, measured as Total Suspended Solids, whose internal bonds are too strong or incompatible with water’s structure to be dismantled.

Water flows around these particles rather than through them, interacting only at their surfaces, so their presence is governed primarily by transport rather than chemistry. They include soil, silt, clay, algae, bacteria, and plankton, are most common in surface waters, and typically fall in the 2 to 100 micron range. They foul heat exchangers, scatter light, shield microorganisms from disinfectants, and are visible, tangible, and mechanically removable.

Related concepts

Oxygen Concentration Cell · Turbidity · Three Fates of Matter

---

Part of The Blueprint of Water · 🛠️ operations