= Solution
\b[Primary-minimum aggregation occurs when particles can cross the repulsive barrier and reach near contact.] Its deep attractive well usually makes escape slow on experimental timescales, giving effectively irreversible coagulation. Higher electrolyte concentration screens the repulsion and can eliminate the barrier. The <critical coagulation concentration> is the electrolyte concentration at which rapid, approximately diffusion-limited coagulation sets in under the specified conditions; in an idealized DLVO description it is associated with loss of the protective barrier. Ion valence and surface boundary conditions strongly influence this threshold.
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