Adsorption

Dr. Syeda Sultana Razia

Professor
Department of Chemical Engineering
BUET, Dhaka 1000
Introducing Adsorption
 Adsorption is very different
from distillation, absorption, and
extraction
 Two phases in contact are
solid/fluid
 Molecules distribute themselves
between two phases by diffusing
from the bulk of the fluid to the
surface of the solid, i.e. walls of
the pores and inside the particle
and by getting adsorbed
 Unsteady process
 Solute- adsorbate
 Solid- adsorbent
Types of adsorption
 Physical adsorption
◦ Atoms of solid surface have a residue of
molecular force called van der Waals forces. This
kind of adsorption can be easily reversed
 Chemical adsorption
◦ Chemical interaction occurs between the
adsorbate and adsorbent, i.e. exchange of ions,
electrons, radicals etc. Regeneration may be a
problem
 Most commercial adsorbents rely on physical
adsorption; while catalysis relies on
chemisorption.
Comparison
 Applications
 Separation of components having similar
volatilities. Example: separation of n and
iso-paraffin
 Capability to remove gaseous and vapor
contaminants from process stream to
extremely low levels
 Applications
The principle of adsorption is employed,
 in heterogeneous catalysis.
 in gas masks where activated charcoal adsorbs poisonous
gases.
 in the refining of petroleum and decolouring cane juice.
 in creating vacuum by adsorbing gases on activated charcoal.
 in chromatography to separate the constituents' of a
mixture.
 to control humidity by the adsorption of moisture on silica
gel.
 in certain titrations to determinate the end point using an
adsorbent as indicator (Example: Flouroscein).
Disadvantages
 Limited capacity: useful for dilute
solutions
 Solids are difficult to handle
 Property varies
 Regeneration can be energy intensive
 Available analysis is less reliable
Nature of Adsorbents
 Molecules adsorb on all surfaces
 Amount adsorbed is roughly proportional to
the amount of surface
 Commercial adsorbents are extremely
porous with large internal surface area
◦ Iron oxide particles
 Pore size: 5m, density: 5000 kg/m3
 External surface 12,000 m2/kg
 Total surface 400,000 m2/kg
Will size reduction of adsorbent particles change
adsorption capacity?
Selection of Adsorbents
 Pores should be large enough to admit
molecules to be adsorbed
 Should be capable of being easily
regenerated
 Should not age rapidly
 Should be mechanically strong
Types of Adsorbents
 Carbons
◦ non polar surfaces can adsorb non polar molecules i.e.
hydrocarbons;
◦ used to filter gases, purify water;
◦ made from coal, coke wood, coconut shells, sawdust etc
 Inorganic materials
◦ Activated alumina: polar surface, dessicant, GC
◦ Silica gel: dessicant
◦ Clays/fuller’s earth: treatment of edible oils, mineral oils
◦ Molecular sieves/Zeolites: with specific pore size, separation of
paraffin mixtures
 Synthetic polymers/resins
◦ ion exchange polymer used for water treatment and in
biochemical processes
Adsorption Isotherms
 Adsorption
isotherm describes
the equilibrium of
the adsorption of a
material at a surface
at constant
temperature
Adsorption Isotherms
 Models for Isotherms
• Linear isotherm,
• Freundlich isotherm
• Langmuir isotherm
• BET model and
Gibbs isotherm.
 Different Adsorbents - Same
Adsorbate
 Adsorption isotherms for water at 20-50oC
Adsorption Equipment
 Fixed bed adsorbers
 Powdered carbon in stirred tanks
 Pressure Swing Adsorbers (PSA)
Fixed Bed Adsorbers:Vapor system
Vapor phase adsorption system:1- 4 ft deep
Fixed Bed Adsorbers:Vapor system
Fixed Bed Adsorbers: Liquid System
Powdered Carbon in Stirred Tanks
 Packed Bed vs Stirred Tank
 Imagine that we have 30 l of a solution
containing 10–4 g/l gentamicin, an antibiotic
used to treat eye infections. We want to
recover 99% of this material using a custom
ion-exchange resin for which the isotherm is
Packed Bed vs Stirred Tank
 For packed bed adsorption, the adsorbent
is in contact with fresh feed i.e., y is
 For stirred-tank adsorption, we know that
for 99% recovery, only 1% of the
antibiotic is left in solution, i.e., y is

Packed bed performs better than stirred

tank
Pressure Swing Adsorbers (PSA)
Pressure Swing Adsorbers (PSA)
Concentration Pattern in Fixed
Beds
Breakthrough Curves
Rate of Mass Transfer
Rate of Mass Transfer
Mass Transfer Coefficient
 Internal coefficient decreases with time
Irreversible Adsorption
 Equilibrium concentration is zero
Length of Saturated Bed
Breakthrough Curves: Irreversible
Adsorption
  = t/t*