Question

What is sorption and its Examples?

Answer 1

Hint : Sorption is a chemical and physical phenomenon in which a substance gets attached to another substance. The substance which is getting attached to another substance is known as sorbate and the substance on which the sorbate is attached is called sorbent. We will study sorption in detail in this question.

Complete Step By Step Answer:
Sorption occurs in nature in two types, Absorption and Adsorption
Absorption-
It is a process in which an atom, molecule or ion becomes part of another substance; it may be solid or liquid. It involves the whole volume of the absorbing agent. It can be a process of soaking. The common examples of absorption are cotton dipped in water, cotton absorbs the water, soaking up milk with a paper towel.
Adsorption-
It is the process in which atoms, molecules or ions adhere on the surface of a liquid or solid. The atoms, molecules or ions remain on the surface of the liquid or solid; they do not enter the bulk of adsorbing substances. The substance whose atoms, molecules or ions are adsorbed is known as adsorbate. The substance that contains the surface on which the process is taking place is known as adsorbent. It is a surface phenomenon only it does not involve bulk. Some examples of adsorption are silica and alumina gel used to adsorb moisture to reduce humidity, Gas masks used in coal mines are used to adsorb poisonous gas so it can purify air for breathing.

Note :
There is one more type of sorption Ion-exchange method, it is a reversible interchange method in which one kind of ion present on insoluble solid is interchanged with a charge present in the solution surrounding the solid. It is used for water softening or water demineralisation.