ABSTRACT
Multicomponent adsorption at air/water, oil/water, gas/solid, and liquid/solid interfaces is a significant practical problem in foams, emulsions, detergents, catalysis, pollution abatement, and separation methods. Adsorption from liquid solution is practically another planet with respect to gas-phase adsorption, because the fundamental principles and methodology are different in almost all aspects. Complex profiles of interfacial properties occur in the case of multicomponent systems with coexisting bulk phases where attractive/repulsive molecular interactions involve adsorption or depletion of one or several components. Waters polluted by organic compounds are often treated by adsorption processes in which activated carbons and other materials act as adsorbents. The most studied hydrophobic zeolite in adsorption of organic compounds from water solutions is silicalite-1. Carbon is the mainly used adsorbent in the case of liquid–solid adsorption systems. Phenol is one of the most important compounds adsorbed by carbon from the liquid phase.
