Evolution of a Technology

Abstract

The technology of adsorption has evolved within the past few decades as the front line of defense of the water and waste treatment industries for control of hazardous organic chemicals. In many ways, the evolutionary track of the technology reflects the changes that have occurred in the philosophical and scientific directions of the environmental engineering field over the same period. The evolution of a scientific basis for the technology has enlightened our understanding of others, for the phenomenon of adsorption operates in virtually every water and waste treatment process and every process that occurs in the natural aquatic environment. The objectives of this paper are to present a perspective of the historical and modern origins and motivations for adsorption technology in environmental applications, what we know of the science of the process, our ability to articulate that knowledge in engineering design, and a look toward technological horizons.