Sedimentation involves the response of motion of molecules or particles to gravitational, centrifugal, or electrochemical forces. Sedimentation literally means the manner in which a sediment is taken out of whatever transportation process it is dissolved or entrained in (water, wind, gravity, waves, etc.), resulting in a deposit of sediment. Thus, sedimentation can occur naturally from the [Page 2522]various fluids or the media of movement, or it can occur artificially in different human environments (e.g., inside a laboratory vessel or water and wastewater treatment plants). The net result is that material is removed from further direct interaction with its entraining agent and is generally blocked by a hard boundary against which it is then lodged. This then constitutes a new collection of sediments. Many different genetic ...