Adsorption from ternary liquid mixtures on solids

The theory of adsorption from binary liquid mixtures on solids is extended to an arbitrary number of components. An equation for the surface excess is derived in terms of the free energy of immersion of the adsorbent, the capacity of the adsorbent at saturation, and activity coefficients in the bulk and adsorbed phases. Experimental data are reported for adsorption from binary and ternary liquid mixtures of benzene, ethyl acetate, and cyclohexane on activated carbon at 30°C. These systems exhibit nonidealities in the adsorbed phase. The theory provides accurate estimates of adsorption from the ternary mixture using data for adsorption from binaries.