Determination of thermodynamic parameters in adsorption studies: a review

Abstract Numerous contaminants are released into the environment by industrial effluent. The pollutants have harmful effect on the environment and are required to be treated. Adsorption using activated carbon is one of the promising methods for removing the pollutants. Thermodynamic studies in adsorption play a significant role as it determines energy requirement and feasibility of the process. The significance of thermodynamic parameters, such as activation energy, isosteric heat of adsorption, DR model constants, enthalpy, Gibbs free energy and entropy, is studied. Its significance in the adsorption, its role in deciding the type of mechanism and nature of the process are reviewed in this paper.