5. Mechanism of adsorption
Thorough structural and elemental analyses of above cited low cost adsorbents indicate the presence of various minerals and carbon moieties, which are responsible for different physical forces. Therefore, as usual the adsorption on low cost adsorbent is controlled by physical forces with some exception of chemisorptions. The main physical forces controlling adsorption are Van der Waals forces, hydrophobicity, hydrogen bonds, polarity and steric interaction, dipole induced dipole interaction, π–π interaction etc. In the physical adsorption, pollutants get accumulated on adsorbent surfaces by the above mentioned interactions. For example, the adsorption of high molecular weight poly ethylene oxide (PEO) on silica is due to hydrogen bonding and hydrophobic interaction on silanol groups of adsorbents (Rubio and Kitchener, 1976). Generally, adsorption capacity is determined by the degree of liquid packing that can occur in the pores. For an effective adsorption process, the adsorbate molecule and the surface of the adsorbent have comparable pore size. A coconut shell carbon having fine pores has poor decolorizing properties as the dye molecules are much larger in size than the pore of the coconut shell. But it is very promising in the adsorption of smaller molecules. It is has also been observed that adsorption capacity increases with an increase in the concentration. Moreover, some adsorbents like activated carbon show competitive or preferential adsorption i.e. for any complex system comprising of a number of components. It has been shown that low molecular weight pollutants that are adsorbed initially are replaced by high weight molecular species. Therefore, activated carbon easily adsorbed propane as compare to methane (Tinge et al., 1987). The efficiency of adsorption increases with the increase of surface area of adsorbent at a given temperature. Adsorption efficiency at low temperature as molecular species is less mobile. But sometime, the adsorption process involves the groups present on the surface of the adsorbent materials and the pollutants–chemisorption process. Basically, chemisorption involves the sharing of electrons between the pollutants and the surface of the adsorbent resulting into a chemical bond. For example, activated carbons of low cost adsorbents are capable of decomposing various pollutants like oxides of nitrogen, silver salt solutions, halogens etc. (Puri et al., 1965, 1973; Smith et al., 1959). In all these, adsorption takes place via formation of carbon–oxygen surface compounds. The nature and the amount of carbon–oxygen bonds depend upon the nature of the carbon surface, the nature of the oxidative treatment, surface area, temperature and pressure. For example, acidic carbon–oxygen surface groups are very prominent and are easily formed at temperature ∼400 °C or by reaction with oxidizing solutions at room temperature. While neutral carbon–oxygen surface groups are more stable than the acidic surface groups and start decomposing in the temperature range of 500–600 °C. These are removed completely only at 950 °C and formed by the irreversible chemisorptions of oxygen at the ethylene type unsaturated sites present on the carbon surface ( Boehm, 1966; Garten and Weiss, 1957; Puri, 1970).
5. Mechanism of adsorption
Thorough structural and elemental analyses of above cited low cost adsorbents indicate the presence of various minerals and carbon moieties, which are responsible for different physical forces. Therefore, as usual the adsorption on low cost adsorbent is controlled by physical forces with some exception of chemisorptions. The main physical forces controlling adsorption are Van der Waals forces, hydrophobicity, hydrogen bonds, polarity and steric interaction, dipole induced dipole interaction, π–π interaction etc. In the physical adsorption, pollutants get accumulated on adsorbent surfaces by the above mentioned interactions. For example, the adsorption of high molecular weight poly ethylene oxide (PEO) on silica is due to hydrogen bonding and hydrophobic interaction on silanol groups of adsorbents (Rubio and Kitchener, 1976). Generally, adsorption capacity is determined by the degree of liquid packing that can occur in the pores. For an effective adsorption process, the adsorbate molecule and the surface of the adsorbent have comparable pore size. A coconut shell carbon having fine pores has poor decolorizing properties as the dye molecules are much larger in size than the pore of the coconut shell. But it is very promising in the adsorption of smaller molecules. It is has also been observed that adsorption capacity increases with an increase in the concentration. Moreover, some adsorbents like activated carbon show competitive or preferential adsorption i.e. for any complex system comprising of a number of components. It has been shown that low molecular weight pollutants that are adsorbed initially are replaced by high weight molecular species. Therefore, activated carbon easily adsorbed propane as compare to methane (Tinge et al., 1987). The efficiency of adsorption increases with the increase of surface area of adsorbent at a given temperature. Adsorption efficiency at low temperature as molecular species is less mobile. But sometime, the adsorption process involves the groups present on the surface of the adsorbent materials and the pollutants–chemisorption process. Basically, chemisorption involves the sharing of electrons between the pollutants and the surface of the adsorbent resulting into a chemical bond. For example, activated carbons of low cost adsorbents are capable of decomposing various pollutants like oxides of nitrogen, silver salt solutions, halogens etc. (Puri et al., 1965, 1973; Smith et al., 1959). In all these, adsorption takes place via formation of carbon–oxygen surface compounds. The nature and the amount of carbon–oxygen bonds depend upon the nature of the carbon surface, the nature of the oxidative treatment, surface area, temperature and pressure. For example, acidic carbon–oxygen surface groups are very prominent and are easily formed at temperature ∼400 °C or by reaction with oxidizing solutions at room temperature. While neutral carbon–oxygen surface groups are more stable than the acidic surface groups and start decomposing in the temperature range of 500–600 °C. These are removed completely only at 950 °C and formed by the irreversible chemisorptions of oxygen at the ethylene type unsaturated sites present on the carbon surface ( Boehm, 1966; Garten and Weiss, 1957; Puri, 1970).
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