CHAPTER 6

Fluid- Solid Separation Proces

ADSORPTION

RAHIZANA BT MOHD IBRAHIM

 What is Adsorption?
Adsorption is a process
that occurs when a gas or
liquid solute accumulates
on the surface of a solid or
a liquid (adsorbent),
forming a molecular or
atomic film (adsorbate)

ADSORBENT ADSORBATE SOLUTION

2
 ADSORPTION

The removal of dissolved substances

from solution using adsorbents such
as activated carbon
 Principle of adsorption process
• Adsorption is a separation process which certain components of a
fluid phase are transferred to the surface of a solid adsorbent.
• Usually the small particles of adsorbent are held in a fixed bed and
fluid is passed continuously through the bed until the solid is nearly
saturated and the desired separation can no longer be achieved.

Example 1:
purification of water which is to
be softened or deionized is
passed over beads of ion
exchange resin in a column until
the resin becomes nearly
saturated.
Example 2
The removal of trace impurities by
reaction with solids can also be
carried out in fixed beds and the
removal of H2S from synthesis gas
with ZnO pellets
 ADSORBENTS AND ADSORPTION
PROCESS
• In adsorption process two substances are involved.
One is the solid or the liquid on which adsorption
occurs and it is called adsorbent. The second is the
adsorbate, which is the gas or liquid or the solute from
a solution which gets adsorbed on the surface.

Adsorbent : The Adsorbate : The substance

substance on whose
surface the
adsorption occurs is
known as adsorbent.
whose molecules get
adsorbed on the surface of
the adsorbent (solid or
liquid ) is known as
adsorbate.
• The degree of adsorption depends on temperature,
pressure, and the surface area.
• The forces binding the absorbate to the absorbent
(solid surface) may be physical or chemical; chemical
adsorption is specific, and is used to separate mixtures.
 Adsorption Mechanism
– 2) Chemical adsorption
• Results from a chemical interaction between the
adsorbate and adsorbent. Therefore formed bond is
much stronger than that for physical adsorption
• Heat liberated during chemisorption is in the range of
20-400 kj/g mole

2019/3/22 ENVE542
Aerosol GYTE Çevre
& Particulate Müh.
Research Lab 7 7
Mechanism of Adsorption Using Adsorbent
 Useful When
• The pollutant gas is noncombustible or difficult to
burn
• The pollutant is sufficiently valuable to warrant
recovery
• The pollutant is in very dilute concentration

• It is also used for purification of gases containing

only small amounts of pollutants that are difficult
to clean by other means

ENVE542 GYTE Çevre Müh. 9

Absorption vs. Adsorption

Bulk (Volume) Surface

Phenomenon Phenomenon
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 DIFFERENCES BETWEEN
ADSORPTION AND ABSORPTION
Absorption Adsorption
Accumulation of the
Assimilation of molecular
molecular species at the
species throughout the bulk
Definition surface rather than in the
of the solid or liquid is
bulk of the solid or liquid is
termed as absorption.
termed as adsorption.

Phenomenon It is a bulk phenomenon It is a surface phenomenon.

Heat exchange Endothermic process Exothermic process

It is not affected by It is favored by low
Temperature
temperature temperature
It steadily increases and
Rate of reaction It occurs at a uniform rate.
reach to equilibrium
Concentration on the surface
It is same throughout the
Concentration of adsorbent is different
material.
from that in the bulk
 Test Your Self
Illustrate the process to describe the
differences between absorption and
adsorption
Answer
 Types of adsorption:

Physical adsorption
(physisorption):

• Chemical adsorption
(chemisorption):
 Physical adsorption (Physisorption)

It is also known as Vander Waal’s

adsorption

In physical adsorption the force

of attraction between the
adsorbate and adsorbent are
very weak, therefore this type of
adsorption can be easily reversed
by heating or by decreasing the
pressure.
 Chemical adsorption (Chemisorption)

It is also known as Langmuir

adsorption

In chemisorption the force of

attraction is very strong, therefore
adsorption cannot be easily
reversed. If the adsorbate
molecules are bound to the surface
of adsorbent by chemical bonds,
 Comparison between Physisorption and Chemisorption

Physisorption Chemisorption
1. Low heat of adsorption usually in the range of High heat of adsorption in the range of 40-400
20-40 kJ mol-1 kJ mol-1

2. Force of attraction are Van der Waal's forces Forces of attraction are chemical bond forces

3. It usually takes place at low temperature

It takes place at high temperature
and decreases with increasing temperature

4. It is reversible It is irreversible

The extent of adsorption is generally not related

5. It is related to the ease of liquefaction of the gas
to liquefaction of the gas

6. It is not very specific It is highly specific

7. It forms multi-molecular layers It forms monomolecular layers

8. It does not require any activation energy It requires activation energy

 Properties of adsorbents

• Adsorbents- Major types of

adsorbents in use are:
activated alumina, silica
gel, activated carbon,
molecular sieve carbon,
molecular sieve zeolites
and polymeric adsorbents

Each material has its own

characteristics such as porosity,
pore structure and nature of its
adsorbing surfaces
 Properties of adsorbents
 Adsorbents are used usually in the form of spherical pellets,
rods, moldings, or monoliths with hydrodynamic diameters
between 0.5 and 10 mm.
 They must have high abrasion resistance, high thermal
stability and small pore diameters, which results in higher
exposed surface area
 The adsorbents must also have a distinct pore structure
which enables fast transport of the gaseous vapors.
 The adsorbents must also have a distinct pore structure
which enables fast transport of the gaseous vapors.
 selectivity
 cost
 capacity
 generability
 compatibility
Factors affecting adsorption:

1. Nature of adsorbate and adsorbent.

2. The surface area of adsorbent.
3. Activation of adsorbent.
4. Experimental conditions.
E.g.,temperature, pressure, flowrate
and etc.
 Test Your Self

Give THREE(3) most widely used as

absorbent in adsorption process.
 Answer
1. Activated charcoal adsorbs gases like CO2 , SO2, Cl2
etc.

2. Pt (Platinum) or Ni (Nickel) metal kept in contact

with a gas adsorbs the gas - Hydrogenation of oils.

3. Animal charcoal, when added to acetic acid

solution and shaken vigorously, adsorbs acetic acid.
 EQUILIBRIUM RELATIONS FOR
ADSORBENTS
ADSORPTION ISOTHERM
THE AMOUNT OF ADSORBATE ON THE ADSORBENT AS A
FUNCTION OF ITS PRESSURE (IF GAS) OR CONCENTRATION (IF
FLUID) AT CONSTANT TEMPERATURE

BASIC ADSORPTION
ISOTHERM :
ADSORPTION DOES NOT
OCCUR AFTER SATURATION
PRESSURE
 Type I Adsorption Isotherm:

Type I arises when only one type of site

- Initially surface fill randomly
- Eventually saturated when surface filled (or pore fill
with a porous material)
 Type II Adsorption Isotherm

Type II Type II arises when the is more than one adsorption site
- Initial rapid adsorption
- Saturates when first site filled
- Second rise when second site fills

Second site could be a second monolayer, a second site on the

surface. In porous materials, it can also be a second type of pore.
 Type III Adsorption Isotherm:

-Type III arises when there are strong attractive interactions

leading to condensation Initially, no adsorption.
-Pressure increases lead to nucleation and growth of islands
- Eventually liquids condense on the surface
 Type IV Adsorption Isotherm:

Type V occurs when there are multiple phase transitions due to a

mixture of attractive and repulsive interactions

Can also arise in multilayer adsorption where adsorption on

second layer starts before first layer saturates
 Type V Adsorption Isotherm

Type V is another case for attractive interactions

Initially no adsorption
Next nucleation and growth of islands or liquid drops
Coverage saturates when no more space to hold adsorbates
 Langmuir Adsorption Isotherm:
• It is a semi-empirical isotherm derived from a proposed kinetic
mechanism. This isotherm was based on different assumptions one of
which is that dynamic equilibrium exists between adsorbed gaseous
molecules and the free gaseous molecules.

It is based on four assumptions:

1)The surface of the adsorbent is uniform, that is, all the
adsorption sites are equivalent.
2)Adsorbed molecules do not interact.
3)All adsorption occurs through the same mechanism.
4)At the maximum adsorption, only a monolayer is formed:
molecules of adsorbate do not deposit on other, already
adsorbed, molecules of adsorbate, only on the free surface of
the adsorbent.
Langmuir suggested that adsorption takes place
through this mechanism:

Where ,
• A(g) = unadsorbed gaseous molecule
• B(s) = unoccupied metal surface
• AB = Adsorbed gaseous molecule.
 BATCH ADSORBER
ADSORPTION EQUIPMENT
 BATCH ADSORBER

the gaseous mixture or liquid from which various components are to be extracted
enters the adsorber through the top intake pipe
then, it passes through the bed of porous adsorbent, which is supported on a
horizontal screen
withdrawn from the apparatus through the bottom exit pipe
Classify absorption in fixed-bed
adsorption column