Physical Chemistry for Engineers II Laboratory

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. Introduction

II. Objectives

III. Review of Related Literatures and Applications

IV. Methodology

A. Materials

B. Experimental Procedure

V. Results and Discussion

VI. Conclusion

VII. Appendix

A. Tables/ Data

B. References

VIII. Documentation

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I. Introduction

Adsorption is the adhesion of atoms, ions or molecules from a gas, liquid or dissolved solid to
a surface. This process creates a film of the adsorbate on the surface of the adsorbent. Adsorption is a
surface-based process, while absorption involves the whole volume of the material. The
term sorption encompasses both processes, while desorption is the reverse of it.

Adsorption can either be physical or chemical process in nature. In this experiment, physical
adsorption is involved where charcoal as the adsorbent and the food color solution as the adsorbate. Physical
adsorption resembles the condensation of gases to liquids and depends on the physical, on van der Waals,
force of attraction between the solid adsorbers and the adsorbate molecules.

The aim of this experiment is to determine the equilibrium time under some changed parameters like
ratio of adsorbent to adsorbate and the particle size of the adsorbent.

II. Objectives

The objectives of this experiment are as follows:

1. Determine the equilibrium time as a function of adsorbent to adsorbate ratio and adsorbent particle
size.
2. Determine the relationship of the amount of adsobent to the time of equilibrium.
3. Determine the relationship of the adsorbent’s particle size to the time of equilibrium.

III. Review of Related Literature

Factors affecting the adsorption capacity

 Size of adsorbate: Smaller size of particles is preferable .This is because equilibrium is more likely
to achieved by smaller ,reduced and fine particles of adsorbate.If the adsorbate is of smaller size it
can better be hold by the adsorbent.
 Contact time and surface area: Adsorption needs time for completion more time given better will be
the adsorption. Also the surface area should be large for complete adsorption and it will lead
adsorption to equilibrium position.
 Neutral particles and sparingly soluble adsorbate show better adsorption: Neutral molecules are
easily adsorbed than ionizable molecules because when ionization occurs charges dispersed in
.Sparingly soluble particles are easily adsorbed on to the surface then soluble substances.
 Size of Pores to adsorbate size: As we know very well adsorbent contains pores through which
adsorption occurs .If size of adsorbate is larger than size of pores then there is will definitely be a
problem so size of pores should be in accordance with the adsorbate size.

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Importance or Applications of Adsorption:

Adsorption finds extensive applications both in research laboratory and in industry. A few
applications are discussed below:

 In preserving vacuum: In Dewar flasks activated charcoal is placed between the walls of the flask
so that any gas which enters into the annular space either due to glass imperfection or diffusion
though glass is adsorbed.
 In glass masks: All gas masks are devices containing suitable adsorbent so that the poisonous
gases present in the atmosphere are preferentially adsorbed and the air for breathing is purified.
 In clarification of sugar: Sugar is decolorized by treating sugar solution with charcoal powder. The
latter adsorbs the undesirable colors present.
 In paint industry: The paint should not contain dissolved gases as otherwise the paint does not
adhere well to the surface to be painted and thus will have a poor covering power. The dissolved
gases are therefore, removed by suitable adsorbents during manufacture. Further, all surfaces are
covered with layers of gaseous, liquid or solid films. These have to be removed before the paint is
applied. This is done by suitable liquids which adsorbs these films. Such liquids are called wetting
agents. The use of spirit as wetting agent in furniture painting is well known.
 In chromatographic analysis: The selective adsorbent of certain substances from a solution by a
particular solid adsorbent has helped to develop technique for the separation of the components of
the mixture. This technique is called chromatographic analysis. For example: in column
chromatography a long and wide vertical tube is filled with a suitable adsorbent and the solution of
the mixture poured from the top and then collected one by one from the bottom.
 In catalysis: The action of certain solids as catalysts is best explained in terms of adsorption. The
theory is called adsorption theory. According to this theory, the gaseous reactants are adsorbed on
the surface of the solid catalyst. As a result, the concentration of the reactants increases on the
surface and hence the rate of reaction increases. The theory is also able to explain the greater
efficiency of the catalyst in the finely divided state, the action of catalyst promoters and poisons.
 In adsorption indicators: Various dyes which owe their use to adsorption have been introduced as
indicators particularly in precipitation titrations. For example: KBr is easily titrated with AgNO 3 using
eosin as an indicator.
 In softening of hard water: The use of ion exchangers for softening of hard water is based upon
the principle of competing adsorption just as in chromatography.
In removing moisture from air in the storage of delicate instruments:
Such instruments which may be harmed by contact with the moist air are kept out of contact with
moisture using silica gel.

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IV. Methodology

A. Materials

1. Charcoal 6. Digital weighing scales

2. Food color 7. Syringe
3. Distilled water 8. Stirring rod
4. Beakers 9. Stopwatch/timer
5. Graduated cylinders

B. Experimental Procedure

i.Density-concentration correlation
1. Prepare 0, 0.5%, 1.0%, 1.5%, 2%, 2.5% and 3% (weight basis) food color solution.
2. Determine the density of each solution.
3. Plot concentration as a function of density using Microsoft Excel.

ii. Adsorbent preparation

1. Crush 1 kg of charcoal.
2. Stack the Tyler screens starting with Number 4 as the top layer followed with 3, 2 and 1.
3. Load the crushed charcoal into the Tyler Number 4. Shake rigorously.
4. Collect the particles at the Tyler Mesh 3, 2 and 1. Particle size found at Tyler Mesh 3 has a particle
size between the Tyler Mesh size 3 and 4 and so on and so forth.
5. Label the particle sizes of the samples.

iii. Adsorption
1. Prepare a 3% w/w food color solution in a beaker.
2. Add the prescribe amount of charcoal to the solution.
3. Stir the solution continuously.
4. Withdraw 0.5 ml of solution every 3 minutes.
5. Determine the density of the solution.
6. Return the withdrawn solution into the beaker.
7. Repeat the process until the density of the solution remains constant over time.

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V. Results and Discussion

GRAPH 1: CONCENTRATION AS A FUNCTION OF DENSITY

1.2

1
DENSITY (g/mL)

0.8

0.6 Trial 1
Trial 2
0.4
Trial 3
0.2

0
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3
CONCENTRATION (%w/w)

Increasing the concentration of the solution results to higher density.

GRAPH 2: EQUILIBRIUM TIME AS A FUNCTION OF ADSORBENT'S AMOUNT

14
12
10
TIME (MINUTES)

8 TRIAL 1

6 TRIAL 2

4 TRIAL 3

2
0
10:01 5:01 1:01
ADSORBENT-ADSORBATE RATIO (GRAMS)

Decreasing the amount of adsorbent leads to slower equilibrium time.

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GRAPH 3: DENSITY AS A FUNCTION OF ADSORBENT'S AMOUNT

1.25
1.2
1.15
DENSITY (g/mL)

1.1
Trial 1
1.05
Trial 2
1
Trial 3
0.95
0.9
10:01 5:01 1:01
ADSORBENT-ADSORBATE RATIO (GRAMS)

Densities at equilibrium didn’t change much with decreasing adsorbent’s amount.(This is due to
some experimental errors, the weighing scale used only gives mass with one decimal place. Using
high presicion weighing scale would be better.) Looking at the graph, the density increased at the
volumes with lesser adsorbent.

GRAPH 4: EQUILIBRIUM TIME AS A FUNCTION OF ADSORBENT'S SIZE

20
18
16
TIME IN MINUTES

14
12
10 Trial 1
8 Trial 2
6
Trial 3
4
2
0
1-2(fine) 2-3(finer) 3-4(finest)
MESH

As the absorbent’s size gets finer, the equilibrium time gets faster

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GRAPH 5: DENSITY AS A FUNCTION OF ADSORBENT'S SIZE

1.25

1.2

1.15
DENSITY (g/mL)

1.1
Trial 1
1.05
Trial 2
1 Trial 3
0.95

0.9
1-2(fine) 2-3(finer) 3-4(finest)
MESH

As the absorbent’s size gets finer, the density decreases.

VI. Conclusion

Adding more solute to a solvent changes the composition of particles in a given volume of solution,
this resulted in the increase of mass per unit area or what we call the density.

Increasing the amount of adsorbent especially with constant stirring leads to the increase of active
surface area resulting to more dispersion intensity of adsorbent thus attracting more adsorbate in a shorter
period of time. Therefore, the equilibrium will be achieved sooner

Smaller adsorbent particles achieves equilibrium time sooner than that of the adsorbent with larger
particle size because in finer absorbent, more surface area of the adsorbent is in contact with the solution,
thus, greater tendency for adsorption to occur.

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VII. Appendix

A. Tables and Data

Table 1: Concentration-Density Data

Concentration Density (g/ml)

(%w/w) Trial 1 Trial 2(g/mL) Trial 3(g/mL)
0 0 0 0
0.5 0.9805 0.9805 0.9805
1.0 0.9854 0.9854 0.9854
1.5 0.9902 0.9902 0.9902
2 0.9714 0.9903 0.9714
2.5 1 0.9952 0.9952
3 1.0049 1 1

Table 2: Equilibrium Time as a Function of Adsorbent to Adsorbate Ratio

Adsorbent Adsorbate Equilibrium time

Ratio min Trial 1 min Trial 2 min Trial 3
10:1 6 1.2 6 1.2 6 1
5:1 6 1.2 6 1.2 9 1.2
1:1 12 1.2 6 1.2 9 1.2

Table 3: Equilibrium time as a function of Particle size

Equilibrium Time
Particle Size
min Trial 1 min Trial 2 Min Trial 3
Tyler Mesh 1-2 9 1.2 9 1.2 18 1.2
Tyler Mesh 2-3 6 1 6 1 9 1.2
Tyler Mesh 3-4 6 1 6 1 6 1

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B. References
 http://flamesofchemistry.blogspot.com/2013/09/adsorption-capacity-and-
factors.html
 https://www.thebigger.com/chemistry/surface-chemistry/what-are-the-applications-
of-adsorption/
 https://www.britannica.com/science/adsorption
 https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Effect-of-adsorbent-dose-on-
adsorption_fig4_272771088

VIII. Documentation

Charcoal in Tyler mesh Separated charcoals in different particle size

Weighing of charcoal Weighing of food color powder

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Food color solution in a beaker

Food color solution with

charcoal in a beaker

Stirring of charcoal solution Weighing of withdrawn charcoal

solution using syringe

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