There has been a lack of authoritative, current information on the structure, investigation and preparation of inorganic sorbents, their numerous applications as well as the adsorption from gaseous and liquid phases on new and chemically modified inorganic solids. This volume deals with the above-mentioned themes and presents 34 up-to-date comprehensive and critical reviews written by well-recognized authorities. The sorbents discussed are primarily mineral ones. Each contribution treats a problem critically by showing its development, presenting documentation on the state-of-the-art and identifying subjects for further research. The book will be of interest to researchers in academic institutes and industrial laboratories engaged in the fields of surface chemistry, inorganic chemistry, adsorption, ion-exchange, catalysis, chromatography and spectroscopy of the surface phenomena, as well as to students attending graduate and postgraduate courses.

Volume I contains a brief review of adsorption history and its development for practical purposes up until now. It also presents some important information on adsorbents and catalysts as well as on the methods of their characterization. The part of this volume dealing with practical industrial applications includes chapters presenting advanced technical tools for high capacity adsorption separation of liquid and gas mixtures, development of new adsorbents for removal of hazardous contaminants from combustion flue gases and wastewaters, degasification of coal seams and fabrication of inorganic membranes and their applications. A comprehensive review is also included on contemporary utility of self-assembled monolayers, adsorption proteins and their role in modern industry, adsorption methods in technology of optical fibre glasses, sol-gel technology, solid desiccant dehumidification systems, etc. The articles give both the scientific backgrounds of the phenomena discussed and emphasize their practical aspects.The chapters give not only brief current knowledge about the studied problems, but are also a source of topical literature on the subject. A comprehensive bibliography on adsorption principles, design data and adsorbent materials for industrial applications for the period 1967-1997 concludes the book.

This volume focuses on adsorption of solutions on solid surfaces using different experimental methods. Preparation and characterization of nanoparticles, nanocomposites are an interesting theme for material scientists. The environmental aspects of adsorption and the properties of dispersions and microemulsions, surfactants, polymers, clay minerals, are dealt with and a summary of the current results in interfacial phenomena and modern colloid science is given.

This text offers an overview of the recent theoretical and practical results achieved in gas-solid, liquid-solid and gas-liquid adsorption research.

"Progresses from theoretical issues to applications. Contains a historical overview, in-depth considerations of various scenarios of silica adsorption, and results from the latest research. Invaluable for broad coverage of the expanding field of silica research."