Sorption

Sorption is a process in which a liquid or gas accepts a solid substance to be more completely immersed inside, forming a denser mixture. This process is used in many fields, including the chemical, pharmaceutical, food and biological industries. There are several types of sorption, including hydrophobic, hydrophilic and alkaline.

Hydrophobic sorption is characteristic of oils and fatty substances that are absorbed by porous materials due to the fact that they have low surface tension. Hydrophilic sorption works when the system contains water or polar molecules such as electrolytes, organically soluble substances and hormones. However, an alkaline-sorbed system may contain not only polar substances, but also other types of particles that are less abundant in natural conditions. In the case of this combined type of sorption capacity, many strong acids and bases can bind hydrogen and nitrogen ions in water, creating more effective and strong bonds.

Oxygen, nitrogen, sulfur and carbon are the four elements found in most organic compounds. Chemists also classify them into four different types based on the number of electromagnetic bonds within the 3d orbital (3d electrons). This means that each element of these four types will use a different type of sorption when searching for a bond: N2, O2 and S2 - have 2 electrons, Cx2y2z2 - 4 electrons, Cx1y1z1 - 3 electrons.

Sorption capacity is the amount of liquid or gas that can be absorbed by solid particles. This indicator can be used to determine the efficiency of a material, since it directly depends on the nature of the interaction of the molecule with the surface. Improving this indicator leads to better adsorption. The rate of sorption is the time required to achieve equilibrium between the adsorbent and the absorbed substance. The term "adsorption" should not be confused with another type of thermal resistance (external heat input), which results in adiabatic heating. When examining a container for sorption, various analyzes must be carried out in order to assess the degree of accessibility of the surface for molecules. This can be done by studying the sorption sites of a substance on surfaces of other classes or by comparing them with standard samples. There are several techniques such as imaging (electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy or microfocus X-ray photography), electron scattering (surface vision), ultrasonic vibration (nuclear magnetic induction and nuclear magnetic resonance techniques). These methods help to measure the structure of a material and its parameters.