Preferential sorption versus preferential permeability in pervaporation

Transport of liquids by pervaporation takes place by a solution—diffusion mechanism. In order to investigate the “solution part” of this transport model, preferential sorption has been compared with preferential permeability. Sorption equilibria and pervaporation experiments for the systems water—ethanol—cellulose acetate, water—ethanol—polyacrylonitrile and water—ethanol—polysulfone have been investigated. Theoretical values of preferential sorption have been derived from Flory—Huggins thermodynamics, extended with concentration dependent interaction parameters. These calculated sorption values show a reasonable agreement with experimental values. The large difference in molar volumes between water and ethanol determines the preferential sorption of water in these systems to a great extent, and this effect increases with decreasing swelling value. Comparison of preferential sorption experiments with pervaporation experiments indicates that, apart from the effect of differences in diffusivity for the permeating components, preferential sorption contributes to a major extent to selective transport

Rapid removal of ammonium from domestic wastewater using polymer hydrogels

To date, technologies to recover ammonium from domestic wastewater from the mainstream have not found widespread application. This is largely due to the low ammonium concentrations in these wastewater streams. This paper reports on the use of polymer hydrogels for rapid sorption of ammonium from domestic wastewater coupled with efficient regeneration by mild acid washing. The sorption capacity of the hydrogel was 8.8-32.2 mg NH4-N/g, which corresponds to removal efficiencies ranging from 68% to 80% NH4-N, increasing proportionally with the initial ammonium concentration. It was, however, unaffected by changes in pH, as the sorption capacity remained constant from pH 5.0-8.0. Importantly, effective regeneration of the hydrogels under mildly acidic conditions (i.e. pH 4.0) was demonstrated with minimal loss in sorption performance following multiple sorption/desorption cycles. Overall, this study highlights the potential of low-cost polymer hydrogels for achieving mainstream ammonium recovery from domestic wastewater

Sorption and fractionation of dissolved organic matter and associated phosphorus in agricultural soil

Molibility of dissolved organic matter (DOM) strongly affects the export of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) from oils to surface waters. To study the sorption an mobility of dissolved organic C and P (DOC, DOP) in soil, the pH-dependent sorption of DOM to samples from Ap, EB, and Bt horizons from a Danish agircultural Humic Hapludult was investigated and a kinetic model applicable in field-scale model tested. Sorption experiments of 1 to 72 h duration were conducted at two pH levels (pH 5.0 and 7.0) and six initial DOC concentrtions (0-4.7 mmol L-1). Most sorption/desorption occurred during the first few hours. Dissolved organic carbon and DOP sorption decreased strongly with increased pH and desorption dominated at pH 7, especially for DOC. Due to fractionation during DOM sorption/desorption at DOC concentrations up to 2 mmol L-1, the solution fraction of DOM was enriched in P indicating preferred leaching of DOP. The kinetics of sorption was expressed as a function of how far the solution DOC or DOP concentrations deviate from "equilibrium". The model was able to simulate the kinetics of DOC and DOP sorption/desorption at all concentrations investigated and at both pH levels making it useful for incorporation in field-scale models for quantifying DOC and DOP dynamics

Comparative moisture and heat sorption properties of fibre and shiv derived from hemp and flax

Abstract: Unlike many mineral-based insulation materials bio-based lignocellulosic fibre and shiv offer a number of benefits including thermal and hygroscopic properties. The microstructure, porosity and chemical compositions of the plant cell walls play a major role in the moisture exchange process. In this paper, the effects of microstructure, chemical composition, porosity and pore size distribution of both fibre and shiv, from hemp and flax plants, on both moisture and heat sorption were studied for the first time. The physical and chemical characteristics of the fibre and shiv from hemp and flax were studied by using scanning electron microscopy, mercury intrusion porosimetry and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Water moisture sorption and heat of sorption were studied using a dynamic vapour sorption apparatus and a simultaneous thermal analysis system, combined with a humidity generator and using a copper furnace. Results showed that both the fibre and shiv of hemp and flax adsorbed a similar amount of moisture at a given relative humidity, which was dependent on the availability of hydroxyl groups for water in the cell wall. The macroscopic surface area and porosity of the specimen on a large scale had little influence on the availability of hydroxyl groups in the cell wall. The water molecules bound with cell wall molecules through hydrogen bonds over the full range of relative humidities, with a consistent hysteresis difference between the first sorption isotherm and subsequent sequential sorption cycles found in the hemp shiv specimens. For both hemp and flax, the isothermic hysteresis of the shiv was much higher than that of the fibre, which was shown to be dependent on the lignin content. The result of heat sorption indicated that some blocked sorption sites become available to water vapour molecules due to the change in molecular structure of the cell wall during the adsorption process. This study has improved understanding of the hemp and flax sorption behaviour and is important for optimal application of bio-based insulation materials for construction

Sorption kinetics for the removal of aldehydes from aqueous streams with extractant impregnated resins

The sorption kinetics for the removal aldehydes from aqueous solutions with Amberlite XAD-16 and MPP particles impregnated with Primene JM-T was investigated. A model, accounting for the simultaneous mass transfer and chemical reaction, is developed to describe the process. It is based on the analogy to the diffusion and reaction in a stagnant liquid sphere, but corrected for the porosity and particle properties influencing the diffusion. The developed model describes the kinetic behavior of the process in the low concentration region rather well. However, in the high concentration region, larger discrepancies are observed. Initially, the influence of the flow rate was investigated to eliminate the effect of the external mass transfer. The influence of the particle morphology was investigated for both physical and reactive sorption. Physical sorption experiments were used to determine the factor τ that takes the particle properties influencing the diffusion into account. It was shown that the diffusion is faster in XAD-16 than in MPP impregnated systems. Reaction rate constant kx was determined by fitting the model to the experimental data. Sorption of benzaldehyde appears to be significantly slower (kx ~ 10−4 l/mol s) than the sorption of pentanal (kx ~ 10−3 l/mol s) due to the slower chemical reaction. The influence of the particle size was investigated for the sorption of pentanal with XAD-16. It was observed that the particle size does influence the diffusion term, but does not have an effect on the reaction rate. On the other hand, the extractant loading influences the reaction rate slightly in the low concentration region, whereas the initial concentration of the solute has more pronounced effect

Advances in sorption systems for energy efficient heating and cooling

At present there is important R&D in the field of sorption heating, cooling and thermal energy storage systems going on worldwide. Sorption systems can enable a more efficient use of renewable energies (solar, geothermal, etc.) both for domestic and industrial applications. This special issue presents the recent advances in the following key-sorption technologies: • Ad-sorption and ab-sorption closed- cycle heat pumps and chillers. • Ad-sorption and ab-sorption open-cycle systems for air conditioning, dehumidification, solar cooling, etc. • Sorption and thermochemical systems for thermal energy storage

Dilation kinetics of glassy, aromatic polyimides induced by carbon dioxide sorption

Over the past years, the equilibrium sorption of gases in polymers has been intensively studied. Mostly, glassy polymers were investigated because of their excellent selective mass transport properties. This work does not focus on the equilibrium sorption but on the kinetics to reach the equilibrium. We developed a new experimental method measuring the sorption-induced dilation kinetics of a polymer film. Carbon dioxide and glassy, aromatic polyimides were chosen as model systems. Low-pressure experiments demonstrate that the measured dilation kinetics represent the sorption kinetics. A significant delay between the sorption and dilation kinetics is based on the fact that dilation kinetics occurs simultaneously with the concentration increase in the center of the polymer film. High-pressure experiments reveal significant differences in dilation kinetics compared to low-pressure experiments. Generally, three regimes can be distinguished in the dilation kinetics: a first, fast volume increase followed by two much slower regimes of volume increase. The magnitude of fast and slow dilation kinetics strongly depends on the swelling history of the polymer sample. The results of the experiments are analyzed in the light of a model relating the fast dilation kinetics to a reversible Fickian dilation and the slower dilation kinetics to an irreversible, relaxational dilation

Sorption vacuum trap

Modified sorption trap for use in high vacuum systems contains provisions for online regeneration of sorbent material. Trap is so constructed that it has a number of encapsulated resistance heaters and a valving and pumping device for removing gases from heated sorbing material. Excessive downtime is eliminated with this trap

Adsorption and desorption dynamics of citric acid anions in soil

The functional role of organic acid anions (e.g. citrate, oxalate, malonate, etc) in soil has been intensively investigated with special focus either on (i) microbial respiration and soil carbon dynamics, (ii) nutrient solubilization, or (iii) metal detoxification. Considering the potential impact of sorption processes on the functional significance of these effects, comparatively little is known about the adsorption and desorption dynamics of organic acid anions in soils. The aim of this study therefore was to experimentally characterize the adsorption and desorption dynamics of organic acid anions in different soils using citrate as a model carboxylate. Results showed that both adsorption and desorption processes were fast, reaching a steady state equilibrium solution concentration within approximately 1 hour. However, for a given total soil citrate concentration(ctot) the steady state value obtained was critically dependent on the starting conditions of the experiment (i.e. whether most of the citrate was initially present in solution (cl) or held on the solid phase (cs)). Specifically, desorption-led processes resulted in significantly lower equilibrium solution concentrations than adsorption led processes indicating time-dependent sorption hysteresis. As it is not possible to experimentally distinguish between different sorption pools in soil (i.e. fast, slow, irreversible adsorption/desorption), a new dynamic hysteresis model was developed that relies only on measured soil solution concentrations. The model satisfactorily explained experimental data and was able to predict dynamic adsorption and desorption behaviour. To demonstrate its use we applied the model to two relevant scenarios (exudation and microbial degradation), where the dynamic sorption behaviour of citrate occurs. Overall, this study highlights the complex nature of citrate sorption in soil and concludes that existing models need to incorporate both a temporal and sorption hysteresis component to realistically describe the role and fate of organic acids in soil processes