Definition

Noun: - The process of taking up and holding a substance: Sorption is a general term for the process by which one substance (a solid or liquid) takes up and retains another substance (a gas, liquid, or dissolved solid). This occurs through the mechanisms of either absorption or adsorption.

Usage

Sorption is a scientific term used primarily in chemistry, physics, and environmental engineering to describe the uptake of one phase by another. It is a collective term. - The sorption of carbon dioxide by the new polymer material was highly efficient. - Researchers studied the sorption of heavy metals from wastewater by the clay.

Advanced Usage

• Sorption isotherm: A graph showing the relationship between the amount of a substance sorbed and its concentration in the surrounding medium at a constant temperature.
  • The sorption isotherm indicated a high capacity for the contaminant.
• Sorption capacity: The maximum amount of a substance that a given material can sorb.
  • The activated carbon's sorption capacity for the toxin was measured.

Variants and Related Words

• Absorb (verb): To take in a substance uniformly throughout the bulk of another.
  • The sponge can absorb a large volume of water.
• Adsorb (verb): To hold molecules of a gas, liquid, or dissolved substance on a surface.
  • The charcoal filter adsorbs impurities from the air.
• Sorbent (noun): A material that sorbs another substance.
  • Zeolites are effective sorbents for certain gases.

Synonyms

• Uptake: The act of taking in or absorbing something.
• Retention: The continued possession or holding of a substance.

Notes on Different Meanings

The word "sorption" has a single, specific scientific meaning. It does not have common idiomatic or figurative uses. It serves as an umbrella term for the two distinct processes: 1. Absorption: The permeation of one substance into the inner structure of another (like a sponge soaking up water). 2. Adsorption: The adhesion of molecules to the surface of another substance (like gases sticking to activated carbon).

Noun

1. the process in which one substance takes up or holds another (by either absorption or adsorption)