Chemistry_Everything You Should Need To Know About Water Adsorption

Adsorption is a physio-chemical process due to which fluid substances (gaseous and liquids) are attached to the upper surface of the solid particle. There are various internal and external forces responsible for the attractive behaviour of both solids and fluids, such as van der Waal forces, etc. There are many applications interlinked with water absorption. This article covers the various aspects related to water adsorption and its applications.

Concept and Definitions 

Water is one of the important elements on the Earth and very essential for the living organisms, and it also gets combined with other matters. Particularly, the interaction between the water with solid surfaces has many studies and literature present in the field of chemistry. 

Adsorption is the potential of solid materials to attract the molecules of gases and liquid. The solid material, which is gone under the process of adsorption, is known as adsorbent, and the molecules which stick over the solid altogether are known as adsorbate. 

Examples 

For example, charcoal is one of the adsorbents that is utilised in gas masks to eliminate the impurities from the air stream. In other words, adsorption is the condition in which molecules of any gas or liquid form a layer around the upper surface of the solid. On the other hand, absorption is the process in which the molecules of the liquid or gaseous material enter into the solid material. Many times, a term sorption is used to refer to both the processes of adsorption and absorption. 

Types of adsorption 

There are two types of adsorption: physical and chemical. 

Physical adsorption 

In the case of physical adsorption, the mixing process depends upon the force of attraction between the solid (adsorbent) and liquid (adsorbate). These include forces such as physical forces, van der Waals forces, etc. Any gas can stick around the solid material, but the process depends upon the low optimum temperature and high optimum pressure. 

Chemical adsorption 

On the contrary, in chemical adsorption, gaseous materials are stuck around the solid surfaces due to the virtue of chemical forces, which are specific for both surface and gas. A higher temperature is the most suitable temperature for chemical adsorption, although chemical adsorption is a slow process compared to physical adsorption.

Water adsorption: 

This is the condition in which water is carried out on the surface of a solid substance with the help of electrochemical forces. The physical and chemical properties of water absorption are different from each other at the same pressure and temperature. For instance, water around the soil particles is a result of attraction between the electrical charges on their surfaces and water molecules. 

Optimum conditions 

Water absorption should be done at low temperatures to eliminate the process of immediate desorption of water molecules. There is another term which is very significant with regard to water adsorption and desorption: the usual environment. 

Properties of water adsorption with the saccharides (carbohydrates) are mentioned below: 

• The properties of water molecules in the absorption process is related with the OH groups of the carbohydrate molecules.
• OH group is the linkage that connects the water molecules with the carbohydrates via hydrogen bonding. 
• Infrared spectroscopic and gravimetric methods are used to analyse and estimate the characteristics of carbohydrates. 
• The more the adsorption, the more will be the number of molecules. 

Applications of water adsorption 

Nowadays, the process of water adsorption in porous substances is widely used in many industrial purposes. Gas storage and preparation, sensing, catalytic process, and proton conduction processes are dependent upon the moisture of stable spongy substances. Water adsorption is also crucial for the process of dehumidification, water purification and thermal batteries. Apart from that, it is also used in the creation and supply of drinking water in remote areas. 

Conclusion

Hence, water adsorption is a physio-chemical process due to which fluid substances (gaseous and liquids) are bound around the upper surface of the solid particle. There are various internal and external forces responsible for the attractive behaviour of both solid and fluids, such as van der waal forces, etc. There are many applications interlinked with water absorption. Water adsorption is also crucial for the process of dehumidification, water purification and thermal batteries. Apart from that, it is also used in the creation and supply of drinking water in remote areas.