The pH value of a solution where the negative variable charge equals the positive variable charge for a mineral. The variable charge results from unsatisfied bonds at grain boundaries and any compensating negative (OH^–) or positive (H⁺) ions, and thus is a function of the solution surrounding the mineral grain. The variable charge of a phyllosilicate involves the edges of the particle, whereas the layer charge is the “permanent charge” and not of interest in determining the point of zero charge (“total charge” is the sum of the variable and permanent charges). Surface properties change with the presence and types of ions satisfying the residual charges at the crystal surfaces. For example, the type of ions attaching to the surface can affect flocculation/dispersion properties and therefore, sedimentation rates. Sposito (1998) defines the point of zero charge more succinctly as “the pH value of a solution, where the net surface charge of a particle is zero”. The point of zero charge should not be confused with the “point of zero net proton charge”, which refers to particles where only protons are charge determining. The point of zero charge is not necessarily identical to the isoelectric point (iep), in part because of how they are derived experimentally. The point of zero charge is usually determined from titrations at various ionic strengths, which yield intersecting curves at a single point (the “common intersection point”) which, in the absence of sorption of other charge-determining ions, is identical to the point of zero charge. The iep is determined by electrokinetic methods as the pH where the particle mobility is zero. Both points are only identical if specific adsorption of other ions is absent.