ADSORPTION

REVIEW QUESTIONS AND PROBLEMS

1. A unit operation wherein specific components of a fluid phase (gas or liquid) are
preferentially adhered to the surfaces of the solid
a. adsorption c. chemisorption
b. absorption d. leaching

2. The adsorbent used in the purification of hydrocarbon products

a. alumina c. fuller's earth
b. bone char d. silica gel

3. The component adsorbed in adsorption operation is called

a. adsorbate c. absorbed materials
b. adsorbent d. chemisorptions

4. A type of adsorption which results in intermolecular forces of attraction between

molecules of the solid and the substance adsorbed
a. gas-phase adsorption c. physical adsorption
b. liquid-phase adsorption d. chemical adsorption

5. Fifty parts of copperas and lime per million parts of dye house effluent removes
50% of the color. How much will be required to reduce the color to 5% if n= 8.5 ?
a.124.5 ppm c. 120.5 ppm
b. 130 ppm d. 126.5 ppm

6. Water contains organic color which is to be extracted with alum and lime. Five
parts of alum and lime per million parts of water will reduce the color to 25% of the
original color and 10 parts will reduce the color to 3.5%. Estimate how much alum and
lime as parts per million are required to reduce the color to 0.5% of the original color.
a. 16.4 c. 18.5
b. 14.8 d. 15.8

7. In bleaching or removal of coloring substance of material such as coconut oil or

sugar, decolorizing agents such as activated carbon is used. Bleaching can be carried
out in a single pass, or multipass or other methods. If 80% of the color is removed in a
single stage decolorization with 4% activated carbon, the activated carbon that will be
needed to remove the same amount of color in a 2-stage counter current decolorization
if n = 2
is
a. 0.025 c. 0.03
b. 0.0223 d. 0.04

Problems 8 and 9 are based on the following information:

It is required to dry natural gas containing 80 lbs of water per 10 6 ft3 by passing it
through a bed of activated alumina gel in two adsorption towers.
Data:
Natural gas to be dried
Density of the alumina gel
Economic adsorption factor
Critical gas velocity through the tower
Temperature of natural gas
Pressure
= 1 x 106ft3/day(24hrs)
= 50 lb/ft
= 4% water by weight (dry basis)
= 35 fpm
= 50F
= 225 psia

Economic adsorption factor refers to the amount of adsorbate per amount of adsorbent
used.

8. The height of the tpwer is

a. 14.9 ft c. 15.9 ft
b. 10.8 ft d. 1.34 ft

9. The weight of the activated alumina gel required is

a. 1000 lbs c. 3000 lbs
b. 2000 lbs d. 1500 lbs

10. Two identical aqueous solutions containing valuable solute are colored by small
amounts of an impurity, to a different, extent. The dark solution has a color intensity of
50 units and the light solution has 20 color units, measured on the same arbitrary scale.
It is desired to treat an equal amount of light and dark solutions to a color unit of 0.5.
The equilibrium adsorption isotherm on activated carbon is given by Freundlich
Equation Y = mXn where n = 1 and m = 0.005 with Y = color units/kg solution and X =
color units adsorbed/kg carbon. The color scale is such that colors are additive, i.e.,
equal weights of solution of color 20 and 50 will give a solution of color (20+50)/2 = 35.
In a single stage process, will it be more economical of carbon to first blend the original
solutions and to treat the blend, or treat each separately to color 0.5 and to blend the
finished products ?
a. blend first, treat later c. both a and b
b. treat first, blend later d. none of these

11. The following data are for the adsorption of CO on wood charcoal at 0C. The
partial pressure P of CO is in mmHg while V is the volume of gas in cc, measured at
standard conditions, adsorbed by 2.964 g of charcoal.
P 73 180 309 .540 882
V 7.5 16.5 25.1 38.1 52.3
 Determine the constants m and n of the Freundlich Equation. Use units of mmHg,
cc, and gram.
a. 17,2.0 c. 30, 1.7
b. 17, 1.37 d. 30,2.0

12. Physical adsorption is

a. an irreversible phenomenon
b. a reversible phenomenon
c. accompanied by evolution of heat
d. both b and c

13. Chemisorption (chemical adsorption) is

a. the same as "Van der Waals" adsorption
b. characterized by adsorption of heat
c. also called activated adsorption
d. none of these

14. The rate of adsorption increases as the

a. temperature increases
b. temperature decreases
c. pressure decreases
d. size of adsorbent increases

15. When adsorption hysteresis is observed, the desorption equilibrium pressure is

a. always lower than that obtained by adsorption
b. always higher than that obtained by adsorption
c. same as that obtained by adsorption
d. dependent on the system which can be either lower or higher than that
obtained by adsorption

16. Which of the following adsorbents is used to decolorize yellow glycerine?

a. silica gel c. Fuller's earth
b. alumina d. activated carbon

17. Freundlich Equation applies to adsorption of solute from

a. dilute solutions, over a small concentration range
b. gaseous solutions at high pressure
c. concentrated solutions
d. none of these

18. In case of physical adsorption, the difference between heat of adsorption and heat
of normal condensation is
a. equal to the heat of formation of surface compound
b. equal to the heat of wetting
c. zero
d. called integral heat of adsorption
19. Pick out the wrong statement Generally for physical adsorption, a gas of
a. higher molecular weight is adsorbed in preference to a gas of low molecular
weight , b. high critical temperature is adsorbed in preference to a gas of law
critical temperature
c. low volatility is adsorbed in preference to a gas of high volatility
d. both b and c

20. The change in enthalpy per unit weight of adsorbed gas when adsorbed on a gas-
free or "outgassed" adsorbent to form a definite concentration of adsorbate is called its
a. integral heat of adsorption c. differential heat of adsorption
b. heat of wetting d. heat of normal condensation

21. With an increase in concentration of the adsorbate the integral heat of adsorption
a. increases
b. decreases
c. remains unchanged
d. may increase or decrease; depends on type of adsorbate

22. The change in enthalpy when a unit quantity of

gas is adsorbed by a relatively large quantity of adsorbent (on which a definite
concentration of the adsorbed gas already exists) is termed as the
a. differential heat of adsorption c. integral heat of adsorption
b. heat of wetting d. heat of normal condensation

23. As complete saturation of an adsorbent is

approached, the differential heat of adsorption approaches
a. heat of normal condensation c. zero
b. integral heat of adsorption d. none of these

24. Ion exchange process is similar to

a. absorption c. adsorption
b. extraction d. leaching

25. C02 can be adsorbed by

a. hot cupric oxide c. cold Ca(OH) 2
b. heated charcoal d. alumina