CIEMAT
Adsorption processes are fundamental for the elimination of ions and molecules from the aqueous phases and are relevant in many areas, especially those related to the environmental pollution control, waste disposals and water treatment.
In natural systems, where both solid materials and aqueous chemistry are complex and of a very diverse nature, the study of adsorption processes faces several challenges, amongst which the most important is the mechanistic interpretation of experimental data.
Mechanistic sorption models represent a very important tool to predict contaminant behaviour in the environment and to improve the knowledge on materials and processes; for this reason, they are demanded for optimizing the control on hazardous substances.
The foundation for the development of these models is the deep knowledge of contaminant and sorbing materials physical chemistry, supported by a solid experimental basis. Experimental tests must evaluate contaminant sorption under a wide range of experimental conditions and point out all the possible factors that may impair retention, including the presence of organic or inorganic ligands, colloids, or competitive ions.
This document describes, in a simplified way, the basics for the analysis of sorption processes, describing the main approaches for their experimental and theoretical study from laboratory tests up to more realistic systems. Particular emphasis is given to the problematic of radionuclide migration from radioactive waste repositories
