Modelling of adsorption processes

Adsorption technology has seen considerable attention in recent years as one of themost practical and efficient approaches for the treatment of numerous types ofwastewaters. In fact it has been considered by many to be superior compared to otherphysical and chemical technologies. Although the main mechanisms involved in theadsorption process depend heavily on the type of adsorbent as well as the adsorbate,several studies have attempted to examine the many factors affecting the adsorptionmechanisms and tried to propose many ways to optimize the process throughexperimentation and mathematical modeling. The latter plays a pivotal role in predictingthe behavior of process separation equipment that utilizes batch as well as continuousadsorption processes. The mathematical modeling of the adsorption phenomena involvesequilibrium isotherm models, adsorption kinetics models and controlling mechanismsmodels that may include external diffusion, pore diffusion and intraparticle diffusion.This chapter offers a comprehensive evaluation of several models for batch andcontinuous adsorption processes, utilizing the authors' own experience with differentadsorbents and different types of adsorbate, ranging from heavy metals to highly toxicorganic contaminants. The chapter also presents a systematic analysis of isotherm,kinetics and packed-bed models, highlighting their importance in the design of industrialadsorption units.