Theoretical foundations of physical adsorption from binary non-electrolytic liquid mixtures on solid surfaces: present and future

Adsorption Equilibria in Carbon/Hydrocarbon/Water Systems

Two equations derived from the theory of volume filling of micropores (the DR and DS equations) were used for the description of the liquid-phase adsorption of benzene, toluene and p-xylene from aqueous solution on to two commercial microporous activated carbons.

Comparison of the experimental and calculated adsorption isotherms showed good accord between the theoretical and experimental values. The results of this work indicate that the parameters of these equations can be used for modelling a water purification process based on the activated carbons.

Application of the Dubinin–Radushkevich Equation for Describing Adsorption from Solutions on to Various Carbons

Dozens of papers have been published recently describing adsorption processes from solutions on to solid surfaces, but a certain lack of understanding of this problem is still observed. This article deals with the description of adsorption from binary solutions of non-electrolytes on to solids. This description covers adsorption both on homogeneous and heterogeneous surfaces from ideal and non-ideal liquid mixtures. Some important factors determining the adsorption process, i.e. the heterogeneity of the solid surface, interactions between the species in the bulk and surface phases, differences in molecular sizes of the adsorbate molecules, etc., have been discussed. The main attention has been focused on the Dubinin–Radushkevich equation and its application in the description of adsorption from solutions on to energetically, heterogeneous adsorbents. Numerous model calculations have been reported for this equation and several experimental systems have been analyzed. The application of the Dubinin–Radushkevich equation in characterizing liquid adsorption on to various carbons has been demonstrated.

Adsorption of n-butanol from dilute aqueous solution with grafted calixarenes

Materials were synthesized for the recovery of n-butanol from dilute aqueous solutions, as may be useful for applications in biofuel-water separations. These materials are composed of hydrophobic, cavity-containing calixarenes covalently bound directly to porous, hydrophilic silica supports through a Si linker atom rather than a flexible organic linker, as is common, at surface coverages of up to ∼0.25 calixarenes/nm(2) (∼250 μmol calix/g matl). The calixarene ring size, upper rim groups, bridging group (calixarene vs thiacalixarene), and surface density were varied. The materials were characterized by NMR, UV-vis, and TGA. The absolute butanol uptake reached ∼0.16 mmol butanol per gram of material at equilibrium concentrations below 0.12 M and increased monotonically with the calixarene surface density. The background adsorption onto the silica surface was small at high calixarene loading. At 298 K, the free energy of adsorption in the calixarene cavities became more favorable by 3 kJ/mol as the surface area of the hydrophobic calixarene upper rim groups increased from H to methyl to tert-butyl, consistent with adsorption driven by van der Waals interactions. A thiacalix[4]arene-SiO(2) material, containing polarizable sulfur bridges and a larger, more conformationally mobile calixarene structure, had slightly stronger adsorption still. All materials except this thiacalixarene exhibited fully reversible adsorption into solution. As a representative material, the adsorption of n-butanol from aqueous solution at a tert-butylcalix[4]arene site was accompanied by a negligible enthalpy change but a small, favorable entropy change of +50 ± 20 J/mol/K, indicating that adsorption is driven by desolvation. Butanol desorbed from tert-butylcalix[4]arene materials at ∼150 °C into the gas phase, well within the range of stability of calixarenes (<300 °C), indicating that these materials have promise as regenerable adsorbents.

Further advancements in predicting adsorption equilibria using excess formalism: calculation of adsorption excesses at the liquid/solid interface

Prediction of adsorption equilibria for ternary liquid mixtures on solid surfaces by means of adsorption data for the corresponding three binary liquid mixtures can be improved by combining the thermodynamic excess formalism with geometrical models. This new strategy for the prediction of excess adsorption isotherms is examined for four ternary adsorption systems ranging from ideal to highly non-ideal ternary mixtures. The predicted isotherms are discussed and compared with experimental ones as well as with those obtained for a model based on the absolute quantities. The results confirm: (i) superiority of predicting adsorption in terms of excess quantities, and (ii) utility of geometrical models for constructing ternary molar compositions on the basis of binary ones to predict equilibria not only for liquid mixtures alone but also for adsorption of liquid mixtures on solid surfaces.

Liquid adsorption of n-octane/octanol/ethanol on SBA-16 silica

SBA-16 silica samples with cubic Im3 m symmetry were synthesized according to methods reported in literature and characterized by nitrogen adsorption and X-ray diffraction. The adsorption behavior of the n-octane(1)/octanol(2), n-octane(1)/ethanol(3), and octanol(2)/ethanol(3) binary liquid mixtures on SBA-16 was studied over the whole concentration range at 25 degrees C. Inverted U-shape isotherms were found and described by mathematical functions. The experimental binary data were verified by using a consistency test for the specific free wetting energies on the liquid/solid interface. The ternary adsorption excess isotherms of n-octane(1)/octanol(2)/ethanol(3) at 25 degrees C were predicted from the binary data. The work presents the first complete and consistent tabular set of binary liquid adsorption data for creating ternary data on ordered mesoporous silica.

Prediction of multicomponent liquid adsorption using excess quantities

The utilization of excess quantities as the basis of a thermodynamic approach can simplify the prediction of multicomponent liquid adsorption from binary data. From statistical thermodynamics, the fundamental equation is derived for the prediction of ternary or higher order data from adsorption data for the constituent binary mixtures. An additive expression is obtained for the double Gibbs free excess energies, valid for adsorption on liquid mixture/air interfaces as well as liquid mixture/solid interfaces.

Adsorption--from theory to practice

Adsorption at various interfaces has concerned scientists since the beginning of this century. This phenomenon underlies a number of extremely important processes of utilitarian significance. The technological, environmental and biological importance of adsorption can never be in doubt. Its practical applications in industry and environmental protection are of paramount importance. The adsorption of substrates is the first stage in many catalytic processes. The methods for separation of mixtures on a laboratory and on an industrial scale are increasingly based on utilising the change in concentration of components at the interface. Moreover, such vital problems as purification of water, sewages, air and soil are involved here too. On the other hand, many areas in which technological innovation has covered adsorption phenomena have been expanded more through art and craft than through science. A basic understanding of the scientific principles is far behind; in part because the study of interfaces requires extremely careful experimentation if meaningful and reproducible results are to be obtained. In recent years, however, considerable effort has been increasingly directed toward closing the gap between theory and practice. Crucial progress in theoretical description of the adsorption has been achieved, mainly through the development of new theoretical approaches formulated on a molecular level, by means of computer simulation methods and owing to new techniques which examine surface layers or interfacial regions. Moreover, during the last 15 years new classes of solid adsorbents have been developed, such as activated carbon fibres and carbon molecular sieves, fullerenes and heterofullerenes, microporous glasses and nanoporous--both carbonaceous and inorganic--materials. Nanostructured solids are very popular in science and technology and have gained extreme interest due to their sorption, catalytic, magnetic, optical and thermal properties. Although the development of adsorption up to the 1918s has been following rather a zig-zag path, this arm of surface science is now generally considered to have become a well-defined branch of physical science representing an intrinsically interdisciplinary area between chemistry, physics, biology and engineering. This review presents in brief the history of adsorption and highlights the progress in theoretical description of the phenomenon under consideration. The paper deals with the above problems critically, showing the development of adsorption, presenting some of the latest important results and giving a source of up-to-date literature on it. Moreover, in this paper the most important aspects are overviewed referring to today's trends and visions in application of adsorption science in industry, environmental protection and in environmental analysis. The relationship between development of adsorption theory and adsorption practice is pointed out. Current understanding and perspectives pertaining to applications of adsorption phenomena on laboratory and on industrial scale as well as environmental protection are discussed and illustrated by means of a few spectacular examples.

Binary and Ternary Adsorption of n-Alkane Mixtures on Activated Carbon

The adsorption isotherms of the binary n-alkane mixtures n-hexane/n-octane, n-octane/n-tetradecane, and n-hexane/n-tetradecane on the activated carbon TA 95 are measured at 298 K and described with mathematical functions. About 40 experimental values of the adsorption excess of the ternary mixture n-hexane/n-octane/n-tetradecane on activated carbon TA 95 at 298 K are gas chromatographically measured inside the ternary triangle. The ternary data are represented in the three-dimensional space with the help of transformation of coordinates and by utilization of the conception of the quasi-two-component representation of the mole fractions. A consistency test for the specific wetting Gibbs energies calculated from the binary data is carried out. The possibilities for a mathematical prediction of ternary data from adsorption data for the constituent binary mixtures are proved. Copyright 1999 Academic Press.