Inorganic flocculants include aluminum salts, iron salts, and their polymers. Organic flocculants can be classified into anionic, cationic, nonionic, and amphoteric types based on the charge properties of their polymeric monomer functional groups. They can also be categorized into synthetic and natural polymeric flocculants according to their sources. In practical applications, inorganic and organic flocculants are often combined based on their distinct properties to create inorganic-organic composite flocculants. Microbial flocculants represent the integration of modern biology with water treatment technology, constituting a significant direction in current flocculant research, development, and application.
