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SORPTION AND DESORPTION BY IDEAL TWO-COMPARTMENT SYSTEMS: UNUSUAL BEHAVIOR AND DATA INTERPRETATION PROBLEMS
Citation:
Griffiths*, R A. SORPTION AND DESORPTION BY IDEAL TWO-COMPARTMENT SYSTEMS: UNUSUAL BEHAVIOR AND DATA INTERPRETATION PROBLEMS. H. Fiedler (ed.), CHEMOSPHERE. Elsevier Science Ltd, New York, NY, 55(3):443-454, (2004).
Description:
This paper presents an evaluation of the results of fitting curves to isotherm and kinetic data for idealized two-compartment systems of soil or sediment. Data were produced by numerically solving sets of Freundlich isotherm and first-order kinetics equations for mixtures of up to three components, each with different equilibrium and kinetic behaviors. Curves of the same mathematical form as was used in the data generation were then fit to the data by nonlinear regression. The parameters computed by curve fitting are then compared with the original parameters used to produce the data. The results show that the values of the parameters computed by curve fitting in many cases do not match the true values due to kinetic effects. Consequently, the meaning of the results obtained by this type of curve fitting will generally be questionable and may say little about the phenomena occurring within the sorbate-sorbent-liquid system. Possible physical explanations for the effects observed are offered.
