Mistakes and inconsistencies regarding adsorption of contaminants from aqueous solutions: A critical review

• Published in: Water research (Oxford) Vol. 120; pp. 88 - 116
• Main Authors: Tran, Hai Nguyen, You, Sheng-Jie, Hosseini-Bandegharaei, Ahmad, Chao, Huan-Ping
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Ltd 01-09-2017
• Subjects: Adsorption; Comment; Critical review; Inconsistency; Kinetics; Mistake; Solutions; Thermodynamics; Waste Water; Water Pollutants, Chemical; Water treatment; Comment; Water treatment; Mistake; Adsorption; Inconsistency; Critical review
• ISSN: 0043-1354; 1879-2448
• DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2017.04.014

In recent years, adsorption science and technology for water and wastewater treatment has attracted substantial attention from the scientific community. However, the number of publications containing inconsistent concepts is increasing. Many publications either reiterate previously discussed mistakes or create new mistakes. The inconsistencies are reflected by the increasing publication of certain types of article in this field, including “short communications”, “discussions”, “critical reviews”, “comments”, “letters to the editor”, and “correspondence (comment/rebuttal)”. This article aims to discuss (1) the inaccurate use of technical terms, (2) the problem associated with quantities for measuring adsorption performance, (3) the important roles of the adsorbate and adsorbent pKa, (4) mistakes related to the study of adsorption kinetics, isotherms, and thermodynamics, (5) several problems related to adsorption mechanisms, (6) inconsistent data points in experimental data and model fitting, (7) mistakes in measuring the specific surface area of an adsorbent, and (8) other mistakes found in the literature. Furthermore, correct expressions and original citations of the relevant models (i.e., adsorption kinetics and isotherms) are provided. The authors hope that this work will be helpful for readers, researchers, reviewers, and editors who are interested in the field of adsorption studies.
•This study summarizes common literature mistakes in the field of adsorption.•Reiteration and propagation of such mistakes in future publications should be avoided.•Correct expression and citation of the models used in adsorption studies are provided.•We also highlight some problems that need to be thoroughly discussed or further investigated.