Thermodynamics of multi-solute adsorption from dilute liquid solutions

✍ Scribed by C. J. Radke; J. M. Prausnitz

• Publisher: American Institute of Chemical Engineers
• Year: 1972
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 801 KB
• Volume: 18
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0001-1541
• DOI: 10.1002/aic.690180417

✦ Synopsis

The thermodynamics of ideal dilute solutions is applied toward establishing a method for predicting multi-solute adsorption using only data for single-solute adsorption from dilute liquid solution. The method is similar to that proposed by Myers and Prausnitz for adsorption of gas mixtures.

Experimental adsorption data for activated carbon a t 25°C are reported for dilute aqueous solutions containing acetone and propionitrile, and p-chlorophenol and p-cresol. Culculated and experiment01 results are in excellent agreement for the first system and in fair agreement for the second system. It appears that the ideal dilute-solution theory for predicting multisolute adsorption is most reliable for those systems where solute adsorption loading is moderate.

When solute adsorption loading is large, the simplifying assumptions in the theory must be relaxed to allow for solute-solute interactions on the surface. The method presented here is simple to use and provides good approximations for engineering design.

Recent studies indicate the economic feasibility of purifying industrial and municipal waste waters by adsorption on activated carbon (1, 2). Adsorption equilibria for mixtures of organic pollutants are required for design of these purification processes. To reduce experimental work, it is in dilute aqueous solution employing only experimental