Kinetic models and thermodynamics of adsorption processes: classification

Adsorption processes are widely used including in the water treatment and petroleum refinery industries, and other applications such as gas separation and air purification. The need to design efficient adsorbents for the gas separation or removal of pollutants from liquid solutions of industrial effluents has been a growing concern for most industries and environmental agencies. Thus, modeling experimental data from adsorption processes is necessary to predict the mechanisms of numerous adsorption processes. Consequently, this chapter presents an overall review of the application of adsorption kinetics and isotherms for optimum adsorption data analysis. Fundamental information on the different types of models used in adsorption technology are introduced in this chapter. Thermodynamic functions (i.e., enthalpy, entropy, and Gibbs free energy) from solution thermodynamics offer a complete thermodynamic description of the system. Characterization of adsorbents, mixed adsorption, adsorption calorimetry, enthalpy balances, and shape selectivity in catalysis are all discussed.