Difference between adsorption and absorption

Adsorption Absorption
adhesion of atoms, ions, or molecules from a which a fluid (the absorbate) is dissolved by
gas, liquid, or dissolved solid to a surface or permeates a liquid or solid (the absorbent
creates a film of the adsorbate on the surface of
the adsorbent
Adsorption is a surface-based process Absorption involves the whole volume of the
material

adsorption is a consequence of surface energy. In a bulk material, all the bonding requirements (be
they ionic, covalent, or metallic) of the constituent atoms of the material are filled by other atoms in
the material. However, atoms on the surface of the adsorbent are not wholly surrounded by other
adsorbent atoms and therefore can attract adsorbates. The exact nature of the bonding depends on
the details of the species involved, but the adsorption process is generally classified
as physisorption(characteristic of weak van der Waals forces) or chemisorption (characteristic of
covalent bonding). It may also occur due to electrostatic attraction
Adsorption, ion exchange, and chromatography are sorption processes in which certain adsorbates
are selectively transferred from the fluid phase to the surface of insoluble, rigid particles suspended
in a vessel or packed in a column.
Adsorption is usually described through isotherms, that is, the amount of adsorbate on the adsorbent
as a function of its pressure (if gas) or concentration (if liquid) at constant temperature. The quantity
adsorbed is nearly always normalized by the mass of the adsorbent to allow comparison of different
materials.

Characteristics and general requirements

Adsorbents are used usually in the form of spherical pellets, rods, moldings, or monoliths with
a hydrodynamic radius between 0.25 and 5 mm. They must have high abrasion resistance,
high thermal stability and small pore diameters, which results in higher exposed surface area and
hence high capacity for adsorption. The adsorbents must also have a distinct pore structure that
enables fast transport of the gaseous vapors.
Most industrial adsorbents fall into one of three classes:

Oxygen-containing compounds Are typically hydrophilic and polar, including materials such
as silica gel and zeolites.
Carbon-based compounds Are typically hydrophobic and non-polar, including materials such
as activated carbon and graphite.
Polymer-based compounds Are polar or non-polar functional groups in a porous polymer
matrix.

Silica gel is a chemically inert, nontoxic, polar and dimensionally stable (< 400 C or 750 F)
amorphous form of SiO2. It is prepared by the reaction between sodium silicate and acetic acid,
which is followed by a series of after-treatment processes such as aging, pickling, etc. These after-
treatment methods results in various pore size distributions.
Silica is used for drying of process air (e.g. oxygen, natural gas) and adsorption of heavy (polar)
hydrocarbons from natural gas

Zeolites are natural or synthetic crystalline aluminosilicates, which have a repeating pore network
and release water at high temperature. Zeolites are polar in nature.
They are manufactured by hydrothermal synthesis of sodium aluminosilicate or another silica source
in an autoclave followed by ion exchange with certain cations (Na+, Li+, Ca2+, K+, NH4+). The channel
diameter of zeolite cages usually ranges from 2 to 9 . The ion exchange process is followed by
drying of the crystals, which can be pelletized with a binder to form macroporous pellets.
Zeolites are applied in drying of process air, CO2 removal from natural gas, CO removal from
reforming gas, air separation, catalytic cracking, and catalytic synthesis and reforming.
Non-polar (siliceous) zeolites are synthesized from aluminum-free silica sources or by dealumination
of aluminum-containing zeolites. The dealumination process is done by treating the zeolite with
steam at elevated temperatures, typically greater than 500 C (930 F). This high temperature heat
treatment breaks the aluminum-oxygen bonds and the aluminum atom is expelled from the zeolite
framework.

Activated carbon is a highly porous, amorphous solid consisting of microcrystallites with a graphite
lattice, usually prepared in small pellets or a powder. It is non-polar and cheap. One of its main
drawbacks is that it reacts with oxygen at moderate temperatures (over 300 C)
Activated carbon can be manufactured from carbonaceous material, including coal (bituminous,
subbituminous, and lignite), peat, wood, or nutshells (e.g., coconut). The manufacturing process
consists of two phases, carbonization and activation. The carbonization process includes drying and
then heating to separate by-products, including tars and other hydrocarbons from the raw material,
as well as to drive off any gases generated. The process is completed by heating the material over
400 C (750 F) in an oxygen-free atmosphere that cannot support combustion. The carbonized
particles are then "activated" by exposing them to an oxidizing agent, usually steam or carbon
dioxide at high temperature. This agent burns off the pore blocking structures created during the
carbonization phase and so, they develop a porous, three-dimensional graphite lattice structure. The
size of the pores developed during activation is a function of the time that they spend in this stage.
Longer exposure times result in larger pore sizes. The most popular aqueous phase carbons are
bituminous based because of their hardness, abrasion resistance, pore size distribution, and low
cost, but their effectiveness needs to be tested in each application to determine the optimal product.
Activated carbon is used for adsorption of organic substances and non-polar adsorbates and it is
also usually used for waste gas (and waste water) treatment. It is the most widely used adsorbent
since most of its chemical (e.g. surface groups) and physical properties (e.g. pore size distribution
and surface area) can be tuned according to what is needed. Its usefulness also derives from its
large micropore (and sometimes mesopore) volume and the resulting high surface area.

APPLICATION

Adsorption chillers[edit]
A schematic diagram of an adsorption chiller: (1) heat is lost through evaporation of refrigerant, (2) refrigerant
vapour is adsorbed onto the solid medium, (3) refrigerant is desorbed from the solid medium section not in use,
(4) refrigerant is condensed and returned to the start, (5) & (6) solid medium is cycled between adsorption and
desorption to regenerate it.

Combining an adsorbent with a refrigerant, adsorption chillers use heat to provide a cooling effect.
This heat, in the form of hot water, may come from any number of industrial sources including waste
heat from industrial processes, prime heat from solar thermal installations or from the exhaust or
water jacket heat of a piston engine or turbine.
Although there are similarities between adsorption chillers and absorption refrigeration, the former is
based on the interaction between gases and solids. The adsorption chamber of the chiller is filled
with a solid material (for example zeolite, silica gel, alumina, active carbon or certain types of metal
salts), which in its neutral state has adsorbed the refrigerant. When heated, the solid desorbs
(releases) refrigerant vapour, which subsequently is cooled and liquefied. This liquid refrigerant then
provides a cooling effect at the evaporator from its enthalpy of vaporization. In the final stage the
refrigerant vapour is (re)adsorbed into the solid.[18] As an adsorption chiller requires no compressor, it
is relatively quiet.

Portal site mediated adsorption[edit]

Portal site mediated adsorption is a model for site-selective activated gas adsorption in metallic
catalytic systems that contain a variety of different adsorption sites. In such systems, low-
coordination "edge and corner" defect-like sites can exhibit significantly lower adsorption enthalpies
than high-coordination (basal plane) sites. As a result, these sites can serve as "portals" for very
rapid adsorption to the rest of the surface. The phenomenon relies on the common "spillover" effect
(described below), where certain adsorbed species exhibit high mobility on some surfaces. The
model explains seemingly inconsistent observations of gas adsorption thermodynamics and kinetics
in catalytic systems where surfaces can exist in a range of coordination structures, and it has been
successfully applied to bimetallic catalytic systems where synergistic activity is observed.
In contrast to pure spillover, portal site adsorption refers to surface diffusion to adjacent adsorption
sites, not to non-adsorptive support surfaces.
The model appears to have been first proposed for carbon monoxide on silica-supported platinum by
Brandt et al. (1993).[19] A similar, but independent model was developed by King and co-
workers[20][21][22] to describe hydrogen adsorption on silica-supported alkali promoted ruthenium, silver-
ruthenium and copper-ruthenium bimetallic catalysts. The same group applied the model to CO
hydrogenation (FischerTropsch synthesis).[23] Zupanc et al.(2002) subsequently confirmed the same
model for hydrogen adsorption on magnesia-supported caesium-ruthenium bimetallic
catalysts.[24] Trens et al. (2009) have similarly described CO surface diffusion on carbon-supported Pt
particles of varying morphology.
Adsorption spillover[edit]
In the case catalytic or adsorbent systems where a metal species is dispersed upon a support (or
carrier) material (often quasi-inert oxides, such as alumina or silica), it is possible for an adsorptive
species to indirectly adsorb to the support surface under conditions where such adsorption is
thermodynamically unfavorable. The presence of the metal serves as a lower-energy pathway for
gaseous species to first adsorb to the metal and then diffuse on the support surface. This is possible
because the adsorbed species attains a lower energy state once it has adsorbed to the metal, thus
lowering the activation barrier between the gas phase species and the support-adsorbed species.
Hydrogen spillover is the most common example of an adsorptive spillover. In the case of hydrogen,
adsorption is most often accompanied with dissociation of molecular hydrogen (H2) to atomic
hydrogen (H), followed by spillover of the hydrogen atoms present.
The spillover effect has been used to explain many observations in catalysis and adsorption.[26]