Modified Langmuir Isotherm Research Articles

Preparation and characterization of nano-galvanic bimetallic Fe/Sn nanoparticles deposited on talc and its enhanced performance in Cr(VI) removal

In this study, talc-supported nano-galvanic Sn doped nZVI (Talc-nZVI/Sn) bimetallic particles were successfully synthesized and utilized for Cr(VI) remediation. Talc-nZVI/Sn nanoparticles were characterized by FESEM, EDS, FTIR, XRD, zeta potential, and BET analysis. The findings verified the uniform dispersion of nZVI/Sn spherical nanoparticles on talc surface with a size of 30–200 nm, and highest specific surface area of 146.38 m2/g. The formation of numerous nano-galvanic cells between nZVI core and Sn shell enhanced the potential of bimetallic particles in Cr(VI) mitigation. Moreover, batch experiments were carried out to investigate optimum conditions for Cr(VI) elimination and total Cr(VI) removal was achieved in 20 min using Sn/Fe mass ratio of 6/1, the adsorbent dosage of 2 g/L, initial Cr(VI) concentration of 80 mg/L, at the acidic environment (pH = 5) and temperature of 303 K. Besides, co-existing of metallic cations turned out to facilitate the electron transfer from the nano-galvanic couple of NZVI/Sn, and suggested the revolution of bimetallic particles to trimetallic composites. The aging study of the nanocomposite confirmed its constant high activity during 60 days. The removal reaction was well described by the pseudo-second-order kinetic and the modified Langmuir isotherm models. Overall, due to the synergistic galvanic cell effect of nZVI/Sn nanoparticles and full coverage of active sites by Sn layer, Talc-nZVI/6Sn was utilized as a promising nanocomposite for fast and highly efficient Cr(VI) elimination.

Investigation of adsorption coefficients of carbon dioxide and nitrogen on a coal-based activated carbon

ABSTRACT In this study, competitive adsorption of a binary gas mixture (CO2 12% and 88% N2) was investigated by modified Langmuir isotherm and as adsorbent, a coal-based activated carbon (Aquasorb 2000, 2 mm granule from Jacobi) was used. Equilibrium adsorption isotherms for pure CO2 and N2 were measured at 293 K, 298 K and 303 K and pressure range of 0–7 bar. Experimental data were fitted using Langmuir and Freundlich models. Based on coefficients of linearisation, it was found that Langmuir model was well fitted with experimental data. Also, heats of adsorption were determined for CO2 and N2 as 13.35 and 5.26 kJ/mol, respectively.

Quantifying the biofilm effects on phosphorus adsorption of sediment

Sediment is a good substrate for microorganism colonization in aqueous environments. The secretion of metabolic products by microorganism induces biofilm growth on sediment surfaces, which further affects their interaction with pollutants and exerts important impacts on aqueous ecosystems. In this study, the effects of biofilm on the phosphorus (P) adsorption of sediment were quantified. A specially designed cylinder was used for biofilm cultivation with different original sediment sizes (0.02–0.05, 0.05–0.1, and 0.1–0.2 mm) and under different hydrodynamic conditions (flow velocities of 0.1, 0.15, and 0.2 m s−1), and their kinetic and equilibrium P adsorption characteristics were experimentally explored. Then, an expression of P adsorption by bio-sediment was derived through incorporating the amount of biomass into the modified Langmuir isotherm. The adsorption kinetic process of bio-sediment was best described by the pseudo-second-order model. The P adsorption capacity increased with the increasing biofilm cultivation period (i.e., an approximate increase of an order of magnitude), which increased quickly in the first few weeks due to the rapid biofilm growth and then tended to be stable due to the gradually stabilization of biofilm growth. More biomass accumulated on the surface of finer sediment after biofilm growth leading to a greater P adsorption capacity, while the difference in P adsorption was not so obvious for bio-sediment formed under different flow velocities. The P adsorption of sediment was significantly enhanced after biofilm growth, and the derived model could reasonably predict the adsorption characteristics of bio-sediment, verifying the possibility to consider the biomass into adsorption isotherms. Further studies considering the structure and components of biofilm need to be conducted in the future.

Adsorption of Pd(II) and Au(III) Ions by Commercial Tris(2-Aminoethyl) Amine Polystyrene Polymer Beads

Adsorption of gold and palladium species containing chlorine ion species onto commercial N-(2-[bis(2-aminoethyl)amino)ethyl]aminomethyl–polystyrene polymer beads (TRIS) was investigated. The influence of the pH, initial metal ion concentration, and contact time on the adsorption performance was examined in a batch adsorption experiment. To examine and discuss both the theoretical character of the metal ion adsorptions, Langmuir, modified Langmuir, Freundlich, Tempkin, Dubinin–Radushkevich, and nonlinear solutions of modified Langmuir and Redlich–Peterson isotherm models variables are calculated. The modified Langmuir monolayer adsorption capacities of the Pd(II) and Au(III) chlorine ions species were found to be 206.93 and 173.18 mg/g, respectively. The two metal adsorption kinetics fit the pseudo-second-order kinetic models. In thermodynamic calculations, the choice of different equilibrium constants with having a dimension is an important problem in the field. To overcome these problems, the modified Langmuir isotherm equilibrium constant was used for determination of thermodynamic parameters. Adsorption mechanism steps were characterized using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). The adsorbent is made to interact with each metal ion in the HCl solution electrostatic interaction and surface complex formation between the amine groups. The calculation of the thermodynamic parameters using the dimensionless modified Langmuir equilibrium constant was found to be more satisfying and reliable. Adsorptions of Pd(II) and Au(III) on TRIS beads were exothermic and endothermic spontaneous processes, respectively.

Phosphorus sorption - Desorption behaviors in the sediments cultured with Hydrilla verticillata and Scripus triqueter as revealed by phosphorus fraction and dissolved organic matter

The migration of sediment phosphorus (P) could be affected by the existence of aquatic plants. To explore the effects of aquatic plants on the P sorption-desorption behaviors in the sediments, sediment in Caohai wetland was collected and cultured with the submerged plant (Hydrilla verticillata) and emerged plant (Scripus triqueter). Then the sorption and desorption experiments were performed, and physicochemical properties, P fractions, and dissolved organic matter (DOM) characteristics were evaluated. Results showed that the treated sediments exhibited similar P sorption kinetic process fitted well with the two-compartment first-order model. Nevertheless, H. verticillata cultured sediment could be well described by the modified Langmuir isotherm model, while S. triqueter cultured sediment fitted the modified Freundlich equations well. The obvious changing P fractions in cultured sediments were BD-P and NaOH-SRP during sorption. H. verticillata and S. triqueter displayed different sorption-desorption behaviors by altering BD-P, humification index, fluorescence intensity, and PARAFAC component contents in sediments. Compared to raw sediment, H. verticillata presented higher P sorption and lower P release from sediments by decreasing BD-P and increasing DOM (fulvic acid-like and humic-like components) content, while S. triqueter showed adverse P sorption and release effects by reducing DOM components. The growth of submerged plants was suggested to make a positive influence on the high efficiency of P retention capacity and low release risk.

Artificial Neural Networking for remediation of methylene blue dye using Fuller's earth clay

The present work focuses on the remediation of Methylene Blue dye (MB) by adsorption on Fuller's earth clay (FE). The optimum batch limits for MB adsorption are; pH 8; equilibration time 3 ​h; initial concentration 100 ​mg ​L−1; agitation speed 300 ​rpm; a dose of adsorbent 2 ​g ​L−1, and temperature 25 ​°C. FE clay was characterized using XRD and FESEM. XRD analysis indicated montmorillonite to be the major component of FE. FESEM images indicated clay surface to be layered with high surface area and porosity thereby making it an excellent material for dye adsorption. Classical Langmuir, Modified Langmuir, Freundlich, and BET adsorption isotherms were studied to investigate the adsorption mechanism of MB on FE. Modified Langmuir isotherm fits well for adsorption of MB on FE with an adsorption capacity of 11587 ​mg ​g−1. Kinetic studies revealed the adsorption process to follow Pseudo Second-order kinetics with the energy of activation 28 ​kJ/mol, indicating the adsorption process to be physisorption. Thermodynamic studies indicated the adsorption process to be spontaneous and endothermic. The Artificial Neural Network (ANN) model was employed in the FE system, and the model confirmed its applicability. According to error analysis, ANN was found to be more appropriate model than pseudo second-order model. Sensitivity calculations from ANN data indicated the pH of adsorption to be the most influential factor in MB adsorption with 29% relative importance. The sorption process may be practically valuable on an industrial scale to remediate MB from water assets at an economical price.

Application of coal fly ash for treatment of wastewater containing a binary mixture of copper and nickel

The adsorptive properties of coal fly ash in removing copper and nickel from waste water was investigated using batch and fixed bed column studies. Various process parameters such as solution pH, solid loading, residence time, temperature, bed height and flow rate were tested to determine the effectiveness of fly ash. The study revealed that fly ash is an effective adsorbent in the selective separation of copper and nickel from binary mixtures. Copper showed a higher competitive strength and greater affinity to active sites as it was easily adsorbed than nickel due to its smaller atomic radius and higher electronegativity. Analysis of the batch studies results indicated that the removal process followed the Pseudo Second Order kinetic model and the modified Langmuir isotherm (qm of 12.18 and 1.99 mg/g for copper and nickel respectively). Values of ΔGº, ΔHº and ΔSº showed a more energetically favourable sorption process which is endothermic in nature (ΔHo of 50 and 62 kJ/mol for copper and nickel respectively), a random solid – liquid interface and a low adsorbate – adsorbent interaction. The Thomas model better described the mechanism for adsorption of copper and nickel in the fixed bed column study and it agreed with the models in batch studies because the model predicts that the sorption process follows the Langmuir isotherm and was derived based on the second order kinetics. Generally, the study found that the predominant mechanism of adsorption was chemisorption which is defined by higher heating values, a unimolecular layer and a homogeneous approach.

Inhibition of Aluminium Corrosion in 1M HCl by Pyridoxine Hydrochloride: Thermodynamic and Quantum Chemical Studies

Currently, research in the area of corrosion inhibition is focussed on the development of green corrosion inhibitors. It is with this in mind that pyridoxine hydrochloride, which is vitamin B6, has been tested as a corrosion inhibitor of aluminium in 1M HCl by mass loss, Density Functional Theory (DFT) and Quantitative Structure-Property Relationship (QSPR) methods. The results obtained show that the inhibition efficiency increases with concentration but decreases with increasing temperature. This vitamin is adsorbed on aluminium according to the modified Langmuir isotherm and occurs in two modes: physisorption and chemisorption. Thermodynamic adsorption and activation parameters have been determined and discussed. Finally, QSPR approach was used to find the best set of parameters in order to determine the theoretical inhibition efficiencies from the experimental data. Experimental measurements were found in good collaboration with the theoretical results.

Experimental and theoretical investigation on the effect of N-substituent position on the inhibition performance of l-lysine derivatives for carbon steel in H2SO4 solution

The inhibitive effect and inhibition mechanism of l-lysine derivatives, namely α-N-benzyloxycarbonyl-l-lysine (α-NL) and e-N-benzyloxycarbonyl-l-lysine (e-NL), on the corrosion of carbon steel in 0.5 M H2SO4 solution were investigated by electrochemical technique, weightlessness test, scanning electron microscope, atomic force microscope, infrared attenuated reflectance spectroscopy and quantum chemical calculation. The results showed that α-NL and e-NL as moderate cathodic inhibitors mainly inhibited the cathodic reaction of carbon steel in 0.5 M H2SO4 solution, and the terminal substituted e-NL showed better corrosion inhibition than the α-N-benzyloxycarbonyl protected α-NL. Their inhibition efficiencies increased with the increase in inhibitor concentration, and the inhibition efficiency of α-NL and e-NL with concentration of 10 mmol can reach 53.4% and 61.5%, respectively, but decreased with rising temperature. The adsorption of investigated inhibitors on the surface of carbon steel obeyed the modified Langmuir isotherm and El-Awady thermodynamic-kinetic model, and the thermodynamic and kinetic parameters were determined to discuss the mechanism of inhibition of α-NL and e-NL. Moreover, Quantum chemical calculation gave further insight into the inhibition mechanism of α-NL and e-NL and was employed to reveal the reasons for their differences in inhibition performance.

MOFs in carbon capture-past, present and future

• Microwave assisted solvo-thermal synthesis was found promising.· • Cu-BTC gave the highest CO 2 uptake was 9.59 mmol/g among various MOFs.· • Adsorption of CO 2 by MOFs mostly followed Pseudo second order kinetics along with Toth or modified Langmuir isotherm.· • Fixed and fluid bed type of contactors were the best suited for MOF based Carbon capture· • Photo-responsive MOFs have a great potential in future that could give a CO 2 uptake of 89 cc/g. Metal Organic Frame works (MOFs) are being widely used in carbon capture through adsorption and membrane techniques, which are yet to be commercialized. This is due to their high affinity towards acidic gases and exceptional characteristics such as crystallinity, structural stability, high surface area and flexible pore dimensions. In this review, wide range of topics viz., synthesis protocols, modifications employed to further improve their attributes, comprehensive comparison of different MOFs used in carbon capture, thermo-kinetics modelling studies, contactors and material screening. Every section has been discussed in detail in terms of developmental trends, future challenges and prospects besides summarizing in the form of comprehensive tables at a glance for the benefit of the readers. Solvo-thermal method was found to be the most effective synthesis method besides ultra-sonication and microwave assisted methods, which also gave very good crystalline structures. The copper ligand based unmodified Cu-BTC MOF gave the maximum CO 2 uptake value of 9.59 mmol/g at 273 K and 1 atm. Zn(Bmic)(AT) MOF was the only species to be tested at 353 K. Alternatively, a photo-responsive MOF, Mg-IRMOF-74-III functionalized with azopyridine gave a CO 2 uptake of 89 cc/g which is comparable to many of the conventional MOFs. Kinetics indicate MOF adsorption mostly follows pseudo second order reactions either along with Toth isotherms or modified Langmuir isotherms. Fixed and fluidized bed reactors perform the best in terms of carbon capture studies. Moisture affinity, active sites and crystallinity were found to be the best factors considered whilst screening of proper MOFs.

Quaternized salicylaldehyde Schiff base modified mesoporous silica for efficiently sensing Cu(II) ions and their removal from aqueous solution

In this study, quaternized salicylaldehyde Schiff base modified SBA-15 mesoporous silica (SBA-AP) was developed. The characterization of SBA-AP shows that the Schiff base ligand has been successfully introduced and ordered mesoporous structure of SBA-15 has been well-preserved after the post-grafting procedure. The quaternized linkage made the as-prepared nanohybrid very dispersible in water, and the salicylaldehyde Schiff base acted as a multifunctional ligand for complexing Cu(II). By adding Cu(II) into the SBA-AP suspension, the absorbance UV intensity at ∼ 420 nm gradually increased. In addition, the adding Cu(II) caused dramatic fluorescence quenching that was very selective for Cu(II) ions. The linear detection range for the Cu(II) chemosensor was 0.05–4 mg/L, and the detection limit was 3.7 × 10−7 M. The SBA-AP could also be used as an adsorbent for removing Cu((II) from water. The adsorption kinetics were fast and followed the pseudo-second-order kinetics model. The adsorption isotherms were fitted well by Langmuir isotherm mode and theoretical maximum Langmuir adsorption capacity of the SBA-AP toward Cu(II) was 34.73 mg/g. Thus, the SBA-AP offers promise for detecting, adsorbing, and recovering Cu(II) ions from water.

Preparation of sugarcane bagasse succinate/alginate porous gel beads via a self-assembly strategy: Improving the structural stability and adsorption efficiency for heavy metal ions

Sugarcane bagasse, a kind of agricultural waste, was esterified by mechanical activation-assisted solid phase reaction with succinic anhydride as esterifying agent to prepare SB succinate (SBS) with rich carboxyl and ester functional groups. The layer-by-layer (LbL) self-assembly technology was used to prepare SBS/alginate (Alg) porous gel beads (SAPGB) with outstanding mechanical strength and desired porous structure from external surface to interior through the formation of gel network structure of SBS/Ca2+/Alg. The adsorption kinetics and isotherm indicated that the adsorption of metal ions onto SAPGB followed the pseudo-second-order kinetics and Langmuir isotherm mode (Qmax = 354.60 and 176.36 mg g−1 for Pb2+ and Cd2+, respectively). The adsorption behavior of SAPGB for metal ions was mainly amonolayer chemical adsorption process. The adsorption was fast and reached equilibrium within 60 min, ascribed to rapid diffusion from porous surface into internal pores. In addition, the stable SAPGB adsorbent exhibited excellent regeneration performance.

Kinetics and thermodynamics of methylene blue adsorption on the Fe-oxide nanoparticles embedded in the mesoporous SiO2

Fe-oxide nanoparticles with a diameter of ~10 nm embedded into the porous structure of mesoporous SiO2 particles using temperature regulated chemical vapor deposition and a subsequent annealing process. The kinetics and thermodynamics of MB adsorption on bare SiO2 and Fe-oxide/SiO2 particles were investigated. MB adsorption kinetics of both SiO2 particles can be described by pseudo first order and intra particle diffusion plot. Thermodynamic parameters were calculated based on the modified Langmuir isotherm model. Equilibrium constant and spontaneity of MB adsorption was increased with the presence of Fe-oxide nanoparticles inside the SiO2 pores, which can be ascribed to the more negative values of ΔH of Fe-oxide/SiO2 particles compared to bare SiO2. A higher affinity of Fe-oxide nanoparticles for MB adsorption facilitated the intra particle diffusion of MB molecules at a longer time of MB adsorption and improve the maximum MB adsorption capacities of Fe-oxide/SiO2 compared to bare SiO2. The maximum MB adsorption capacities of bare SiO2 and Fe-oxide/SiO2 particles reduced as the initial pH of MB solution increased, however, Fe-oxide/SiO2 particles always exhibited the higher capacity of MB adsorption than bare SiO2.

Adsorption of Congo Red Dye from Aqueous Solutions by Wheat husk

The Wheat husk is one of the common wastes abundantly available in the Middle East countries especially in Iraq. The present study aimed to evaluate the Wheat husk as low cost material, eco-friendly adsorbents for the removal of the carcinogenic dye (Congo red dye) from wastewater by investigate the effect of, at different conditions such as, pH(3-10), amount of adsorbents (1-2.3gm/L),and particle size (125-1000) μm, initial Congo red dye concentration(10, 25 , 50 and 75mg/l) by batch experiments. The results showed that the removal percentage of dye increased with increasing adsorbent dosage, and decreasing particle size. The maximum removal and uptake reached (91%) , 21.5mg/g, respectively for 25 initial concentration, pH 6.7 and 1.5 g/l Wheat husk dosage. The experimental data fitted well to Langmuir isotherm mode. The kinetic data support the assumptions of chemisorption were indicates a good fitting to the pseudo-second-order model.

Modeling and simulation of anion exchange chromatography for purification of proteins in complex mixtures

Ion exchange chromatography is extensively used in the purification of biological compounds. Reliable mathematical models describing this chromatographic technique are available and can be used to improve the performance of this separation step. However, the use of synthetic mixtures for model development hampers the application of this approach with real cell extracts processed in downstream operations. This work presents an original approach for handling non-synthetic genuine mixtures of proteins, which was applied in the purification of an untagged recombinant pneumococcal surface protein A (PspA4Pro). First, evaluation was made of the efficiency of steric mass action (SMA) and modified Langmuir isotherms, which were separately used together with the equilibrium dispersive model (EDM). The data used for parameter estimation and model validation were obtained from anion exchange chromatography runs (employing Q-Sepharose FF), applied to real cell extracts produced by different cultivation strategies. Simulations showed that the models were able to describe the complex mixtures of unknown proteins. Next, the EDM and SMA approaches were used to separately describe the profile of PspA4Pro and the pool of protein impurities eluted together. The simulations showed that PspA4Pro tended to elute at the beginning of the peak, enabling the establishment of an alternative elution schedule that provided a 34% increase in the purity achieved using the anion exchange chromatography.

Sb dissociative surface coverage model for incorporation of antimony in GaAsSb layers grown on GaAs (0 0 1) substrates

A Sb dissociative surface coverage model for the incorporation of antimony in GaAsSb layers, has been used to analyze and predict the composition of GaAsSb layers grown on GaAs substrates. The surface coverage model is based on adatoms behaving according to a modified Langmuir isotherm when on the growth surface. After obtaining key parameters for describing the desorption of Sb atoms from a GaAs surface the model was used to fit the composition variation with changing Sb flux of pseudomorphic GaAsSb layers grown by molecular beam epitaxy on GaAs(0 0 1) substrates at growth temperatures of 470 °C, 500 °C and 530 °C. The set of parameters that provided the best fit to the data for all of these temperatures was then used to predict the incorporation rate as a function of As flux and growth rate with good agreement showing the validity of the Sb dissociative surface coverage model.

Modified natural loofah sponge as an effective heavy metal ion adsorbent: Amidoxime functionalized poly(acrylonitrile-g-loofah)

Natural loofah sponge is a low cost adsorbent, but its adsorption property needs to be improved. A grafted copolymer of poly(acrylonitrile-g-loofah) [poly(AN-g-loofah)] was prepared using cericammonium nitrate (CAN) as initiator. The poly(AN-g-loofah) was further functionalized into a amidoxime-modified poly(AN-g-loofah), which was characterized through FT-IR, X-ray diffraction, and thermogravimetric analysis. The adsorption capacity of amidoxime-modified poly(AN-g-loofah) was investigated under different adsorption conditions. Amidoxime-modified poly(AN-g-loofah) with approximately 70% conversion of the nitrile group could adsorb 51.40mg/g Cu2+, which is more than two times higher than that obtained by previous studies. The modified Langmuir isotherm model and pseudo-second-order model fitted well with the Cu2+ adsorption data. A good adsorption amount of Cu2+ was obtained after five adsorption–deadsorption cycles. Hence, amidoxime-modified poly(AN-g-loofah) could be used as a novel substance for waste water treatment in industrial level.

Adsorption of Mono- and Divalent 4-(Dimethylamino)pyridines on Gold Surfaces: Studies by Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering and Density Functional Theory.

The adsorption thermodynamics of 4-(dimethylamino)pyridine (DMAP) and its five divalent derivatives di-DMAP- n (2 ≤ n ≤ 6) with gradually increasing methylene-spacer lengths n binding to planar gold surfaces has been studied by surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) and density functional theory (DFT). SERS intensities of the totally symmetrical breathing mode of the pyridine ring at approximately 1007 cm-1 are used to monitor the surface coverage of the DMAP and di-DMAP- n ligands on gold surfaces at different concentrations. The equilibrium constant as a measure of the binding affinity is obtained from these measurements by using a modified Langmuir isotherm. Due to multivalent binding to the gold substrate, a characteristic enhancement of the binding affinity of di-DMAP- n compared to the monovalent DMAP is observed for all divalent species. First principles calculations of the di-DMAP- n ligands on an ideal Au(111) surface model as well as step terrace models have been performed to understand the adsorption structures and the multivalent binding enhancements. Furthermore, Raman spectra of the adsorbed molecules have been studied by first principles calculations to correlate the binding affinities to experimentally determined adsorption constants. The joint experimental and theoretical investigation of an oscillatory behavior of the binding affinity as a function of the methylene-spacer length in mono- and divalent 4-(dimethylamino)pyridines reveals that the molecular architecture plays an important role for the structure-function interplay of multivalently bound adsorbates.

Model-based monitoring of industrial reversed phase chromatography to predict insulin variants.

Downstream processing in the manufacturing biopharmaceutical industry is a multistep process separating the desired product from process- and product-related impurities. However, removing product-related impurities, such as product variants, without compromising the product yield or prolonging the process time due to extensive quality control analytics, remains a major challenge. Here, we show how mechanistic model-based monitoring, based on analytical quality control data, can predict product variants by modeling their chromatographic separation during product polishing with reversed phase chromatography. The system was described by a kinetic dispersive model with a modified Langmuir isotherm. Solely quality control analytical data on product and product variant concentrations were used to calibrate the model. This model-based monitoring approach was developed for an insulin purification process. Industrial materials were used in the separation of insulin and two insulin variants, one eluting at the product peak front and one eluting at the product peak tail. The model, fitted to analytical data, used one component to simulate each protein, or two components when a peak displayed a shoulder. This monitoring approach allowed the prediction of the elution patterns of insulin and both insulin variants. The results indicate the potential of using model-based monitoring in downstream polishing at industrial scale to take pooling decisions.

Kinetics and Equilibrium Modeling of Sterol Adsorption on Styrene‐Divinylbenzene Cation‐Exchange Resins

AbstractThe potential of recovering phytosterols from fatty acid methyl esters by an adsorption‐desorption process is demonstrated using a strong‐acid ion‐exchange styrene‐divinylbenzene resin (SA‐R) as an adsorbent and ethanol as a desorbent. Since the operating cost of the overall process significantly depends on the efficiency of SA‐R in the adsorption step, the behavior of SA‐R in sterol adsorption is investigated in detail using a model solution of stigmasterol in n‐heptane. The results indicate that stigmasterol was associatively and exothermically adsorbed on SA‐R. Based on the experimental results, a simple pseudo‐second‐order model and a modified Langmuir isotherm with their parameters, which well predicted kinetics and adsorption capacity of SA‐R, are proposed.