Biophysical Chemistry of Fractal Structures and Processes in Environmental Systems

Nicola Senesi is Professor of Soil Chemistry and Head of the Department of Agroforestal and Environmental Biology and Chemistry of the University of Bari, Italy, where he has been actively involved in research and teaching since 1969. He has taught courses in Soil Chemistry, Soil Science, Agricultural Chemistry, Wood Chemistry and technology, Organic Chemistry, Wood Chemistry and Technology, Organic Chemistry, and General and Inorganic Chemistry. He has been a visiting professor and/or scientist for various periods at universities in Canada, USA, Somalia, Indonesia, Switzerland, Argentina, Brasil, Venezuela and Colombia. Dr. Senesi is a Fellow of the American Society of Agronomy (ASA) since 1995 and the Soil Science Society of America (SSSA) since 1996, and received the Gold Medal of the Polish Soil Science Society in 1994. He was conferred with a Doctorate Honoris Causa by the Institute National Polytechnique de Toulouse (INPT), France, in 2000. Dr. Senesi is currently President of Division VI: Chemistry and the Environment and Chair of the Subcommittee on Biophysics-Chemical Processes in Environmental Systems of IUPAC, President of MESAEP, and Vice-President of the Italian Soil Science Society (SISS), and was President of the International Humic Substances Society (IHSS) and Chairman of Division II-Soil Properties and Processes of the International Union of Soil Science (IUSS). He is currently an Associate Editor of Geoderma, Soil Science, Pedosphere, Pure and Applied Chemistry and CLEAN-Soil, Air, Water. Kevin J. Wilkinson received a PhD in Environmental chemistry from the National Water Research Institute of the University of Quebec (INRS-Eau) in 1993. Following his PhD, he joined the research group of Professor Jacques Baffle at the University of Geneva where he began to examine some of the important biophysical properties of environmental biopolymers and colloids. Following the establishment of his own research group in 1994, he focused his research onto relating the structure of environmental colloids and aggregates to their function in addition to initiating a research programme designed to develop a fundamental understanding of the chemical mechanisms of contaminant bioavailability. In 2005, he was appointed Associate Professor of Chemistry at the University of Montreal.

"This is a useful reference book for researchers who study random fractal structures in natural environments." (Journal of Environmental Quality, March-April 2009)

• About the Editors viiList of Contributors ixSeries Preface xiPreface xiii1. Introduction to the Study of Environmental Fractals 1Nicola Senesi and Kevin J. Wilkinson2. Introduction to Fractal Geometry, Fragmentation Processes and Multifractal Measures: Theory and Operational Aspects of their Application to Natural Systems 11Philippe Baveye, Charles W. Boast, Sarra Gaspard, Ana M. Tarquis and Humberto Millan3. Methods and Techniques for Fractal Analysis of Environmental Systems 69Graeme Bushell4. Fractal Structures and Mechanisms in Coagulation/Flocculation Processes in Environmental Systems: Theoretical Aspects 111Serge Stoll and Silvia Diez5. Fractal Mechanisms in Coagulation/Flocculation Processes in Environmental Systems 149Jean Yves Bottero, Armand Masion and Jérôme Rose6. Fractal Approach to Adsorption/Desorption Processes on Environmental Surfaces 179Zofia Sokołowska and Stefan Sokołowski7. Applications of Fractals in the Study of Humic Materials 221James A. Rice8. Fractal Geometry and Microorganisms in the Environment 239Lynne Boddy and Damian P. Donnelly9. Fractal Geometry of Aerosol Particles 273Ian Colbeck Copyrighted MaterialIndex 317