ADSORPTION

 A mass transfer process which involves the accumulation of

substance at the interface of the two phases, such as, liquid-
liquid, gas-liquid , gas-solid, or liquid-solid interface.
 Adhesion of atoms, ions, or molecules from a gas, liquid, or
dissolved solid to a surface.
 .The reasons for this adhesion are numerous , and may include
charge differences, chemical reactions, and size or shape
effects.
ADSORBATE - the substance which is adsorbed on the surface.
ADSORBENT the substance on which surface the adsorbate is
adsorbed.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ABSORPTION AND ADSORPTION

Adsorption in liquids
Adsorption can be understood by considering a simple example.
In case of liquid state, water molecule present on the surface is
attracted inwards by the molecules of water present in the bulk.
This gives rise to surface tension. While the molecule of water
present within the bulk is equally attracted from all the sides and
the net force experienced by the water molecule in bulk is zero.
This clearly shows that particles at surface and particles at the
bulk are in different environment.

Water molecules experiencing forces from all direction.

Adsorption in solids
In case of solid state these residual forces arises because of a
unbalanced valence forces of atoms at the surface. The
generation of these forces on solid surface can be explained
diagrammatically as follows:
Water molecule on surface experiencing unbalanced forces as
compared to molecule inside which experiences forces from all
direction.
Types of Adsorption
Forces of attraction exist between adsorbate and adsorbent.
These forces of attraction can be due to Vanderwaal forces of
attraction which are weak forces or due to chemical bond which
are strong forces of attraction. On the basis of type of forces of
attraction existing between adsorbate and adsorbent, adsorption
can be classified into two types:
Physical Adsorption or Chemical Adsorption.
Chemical adsorption
Chemisorption can be considered as the formation of a chemical
bond between the sorbate and the solid surface (covalent
interaction of CO2 and the surface of the adsorbent) that gives
scope for much larger increases in adsorption capacity. Such
interactions are strong, highly specific, and often not easily
reversible. Chemisorption systems are sometimes used for
removing trace concentrations of contaminants, but the difficulty
of regeneration makes such systems unsuitable for most process
applications.
Physical Adsorption
The forces of physical adsorption are weaker (a combination of
Van der Waals forces and electrostatic forces) than the forces of
chemisorption so the heats of physical adsorption are lower and
the adsorbent is more easily regenerated.
Physical adsorption at a surface is so fast, and the kinetics of
physical adsorption are usually controlled by mass or heat
transfer rather than by the intrinsic rate of the surface process.
Difference Between Chemical and Physical adsorption

Types of adsorbents.
Characteristics and properties of Adsorbents
The following three attributes of an adsorbent make it suitable
and effective for separation of a mixture:
I. Selectivity:- it depends on :
 Affinity
 Intraparticle diffusion rate(different molecules are likely to
adsorb at different rates . the faster diffusive molecule
have high selectivity.
 Size of particle (particle size must be smaller then the pore
size)
II. Adsorption capacity :- it depends on:
  Adsorption affinity
 Surface area
III. Reversibility (the selectively adsorb specie must be recovered
if adsorbent have a reversible capability)
IV. Particle size and distribution
V. Stability
VI. Pore size distribution
Pores are classified as :
• Micropores (less than 20A dia)
• Mesopores (20-500A dia)
• Macropores (500A – 0.05 micro m)
VII. Specific surface area
VIII. Structural strength and stability.
Different adsorbents in industries
1). ACTIVATED CARBON
Activated carbon is a solid, porous, black carbonaceous
material. It is distinguished from elemental carbon by the
absence of both impurities and an oxidized surface. It can be
prepared from a large number of sources such as coconut,
wood, peat, coal, tar, sawdust, and cellulose residues. Any
carbon source can be converted into activated carbon via a
number of methods. Usually, the process is divided into
carbonization and activation.
During carbonization most of the non-carbon elements are
removed in gaseous form by the pyrolytic decomposition of
the source material. The porous structure is mainly
developed during activation by means of an activation agent
that reacts with the carbon. Such agents may include
synthetic acids, bases, and other substances in a stream of
activating gases such as steam (H2O), nitrogen (N2) or carbon
dioxide (CO2).

Magnification increases from left to right

Activated carbon has an extraordinarily large surface area
and pore volume, making it suitable for a wide range of
applications. It can be used as a decolorizing agent, a taste
and odour removing agent or as a purification agent in food
processing. One major use of activated carbon is in water
purification, including the production of potable water and
the treatment of waste and ground waters.
The most important property of activated carbon, the
property that determines its usage, is the pore structure. The
total number of pores, their shape and size determine the
adsorption capacity and even the dynamic adsorption rate of
the activated carbon.

The macropores act as transport pathways, through which

the adsorptive molecules travel to the mesopores, from
where they finally enter the micropores. The micropores
usually constitute the largest proportion of the internal
surface of the activated carbon and contribute most to the
total pore volume. Most of the adsorption of gaseous
adsorptives takes place within these micropores, where the
attractive forces are enhanced and the pores are filled at low
relative pressures. Thus, the total pore volume and the pore
size distribution determine the adsorption capacity.
ADVANTAGES OF ACTIVATED CARBON ADSORPTION
 Highly effective at removing non-polar organic chemicals
from water.
 Applicable to a wide variety of organic compounds
 Very effective at removing colours from waste streams.
 Effective at removing low levels (ppb range) of inorganic
pollutants.
 Thermal regeneration of the carbon destroys the adsorbed
waste solute.
 Very flexible system allows rapid start-up and shut down as
needed.
 System can be designed so that it is portable, to be taken to
waste sites.
LIMITATIONS OF ACTIVATED CARBON ADSORPTION
 Limited to wastes with low organic concentrations (< 5%).
 Limited to wastes with very low inorganic concentrations (<
1%).
 Unable to remove highly soluble organics, or those with
low molecular weights.
 Systems cannot tolerate suspended solids in the influent
stream (due to clogging).
 High operating costs due to carbon costs system
requirements.
 Disposal of contaminated carbon can be problematic if it is
not regenerated.
2.SILICA GEL

Adsorption equilibria
Adsorption Thermodynamics
In the adsorption process, the adsorbate molecules are more
stabilized on the adsorbent surface than in the gaseous phase
and it is because of the reduction in energy level of the
adsorbate molecules that accumulate in the pores of
adsorbent with a phase transformation. The transformed
phase of the adsorbate molecules is called as adsorbed phase
and it is treated as a distinguishable phase in thermodynamic
viewpoint, even though the precise location of the phase
boundary is uncertain. Therefore, it is considered that the
thermodynamic states of the adsorbed phase are not only
function of pressure and temperature like gaseous phase but
also depend on adsorption uptake. The evaluation of
adsorbed phase thermodynamic quantities, such as heat of
adsorption, specific heat capacity, internal energy, enthalpy
and entropy, are essential for thermodynamic analysis of any
adsorption system.
ADVANTAGES OF SILICA GEL
  The advantage of the use of silica is its thermal and
mechanical stability.
 Because of its macrostructure formed by tetrahedron
units, it hardly collapses.
 silicagel can be submitted to very high pressures without
damaging its structure.
 It is commercially available in high degrees of purity at
relatively low costs and with dimensions of areas and
varied pores.
LIMITATIONS OF SILICA GEL
 Not very effecvtive if moisture level has to be reduced to
very low.