Environmental Treatment Technologies: Adsorption

Abstract

In the field of environmental engineering, adsorption plays an integral role among methods to treat contaminants because of its robustness in handling a range of pollutants as well as its simplicity in operation. This chapter provides the basic principles underlying adsorption technology and the effect of several aspects, specifically pH, adsorbent dosage, and contact time in optimizing the adsorption capacity of an adsorbent (the material that adsorbs) towards the adsorbate (that which is adsorbed). The methods of modeling the adsorption data, with varying degrees of freedom, for isotherm, kinetic, and thermodynamic as well as column studies are presented with illustrative results, along with their significance in designing a fixed-bed adsorption unit. A synoptic understanding of the most commonly used adsorbents (both conventional and nonconventional), their analytic characterization as well as applicability with regards to various wastewater is also provided. Finally, a short outline of regeneration and desorption methods as well as operational and maintenance considerations is presented.