ADAMSON UNIVERSITY

College of Engineering
Chemical Engineering Department
Manila

Physical Chemistry 2 Laboratory

OZ403 / M-Th 11:00-1:30

Section: 51026

Experiment No. 7

CHEMICAL EQUILIBRIUM
Date of Experiment: July 3, 2018

Submitted by:

Agdalpen, Manz L. 201513378

Agoto, Ariadna L. 201312884

Carpio, Melissa Mae O. 201420258

Submitted to:

Engr. Emier Villanueva

Date of Submission: July 8, 2018

 JOURNAL IN PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY 2 LABORATORY
Adamson University
900 San Marcelino, Ermita,
1000 Manila Philippines

Adsorption
Manz Agdalpen, Ariadna Agoto, Melissa Mae Carpio
a
Department of Chemical Engineering, College of Engineering, Adamson University, 900 San Marcelino, Ermita, Manila 1000, Philippines

ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT

Article history:
Date Performed: July 3, 2018
Date Submitted: July 8, 2018
Keywords: Adsorbate, Adsorbent,
Adsorption, Concentration, Equilibrium
constant
The experiment aimed to determine the equilibrium constant for the mixture of
iron (III) and thiocynate, to form a complex, ferric thiocyanate. The relative
amounts of the ions participating in the reaction can be judged from the solution
color, since in neutral to slightly acidic solutions, Fe+3 is light yellow, NCS– is
colorless, and FeNCS+2 is red. If the solution is initially reddish, and the
equilibrium shifts to the right (more FeNCS+2), the solution becomes darker red,
while if the equilibrium shifts to the left (less FeNCS+2), the solution becomes
lighter red or straw yellow. In order to find the concentration of the unknown, we
used a standard and compared heights, by either removing or adding solution to
the standard until the color of the solutions to be equal. The experiment also
aimed to apply the Beer-Lambert law and Le Châtelier principle in order to
obtain the equilibrium constants of each solution by using an spectrophotometry.

1.0 Introduction
The term of adsorption is used to specify that the adsorbate
(gas or liquid) is bound onto the adsorbent (solid surface).
This is different from absorption, in which the molecule
goes into the interior of the solid. In the case of adsorption,
the process is defined as physical adsorption if the
adsorbate is held by weak, Van der Waals type of forces
on the surface. If bond formation between the adsorbate
and the adsorbent is observed, the process is commonly
known as chemical adsorption. The amount adsorbed per
gram of solid influenced by the specific area of the solid,
the equilibrium solute concentration in the solution or
pressure in the case of adsorption from the gas phase, the
temperature, and the nature of the molecules involved.
tendency to attract and retain the molecular species with
which it comes in contact with the surface. Adsorption is
essentially a surface phenomenon.
Adsorption is a term which is completely different from
absorption. While absorption means uniform distribution
of the substance throughout the bulk, adsorption
essentially happens at the surface of the substance. When
both Adsorption and absorption processes take place
simultaneously, the process is called sorption.
Adsorption process involves two components Adsorbent
and Adsorbate. Adsorbent is the substance on the surface
of which adsorption takes place. Adsorbate is the
substance which is being adsorbed on the surface of
adsorbent. Adsorbate gets adsorbed.

The amount of a substance that can be adsorbed on

2.0 Theoretical Background
activated carbon depends on the nature of the substance
The process of adsorption arises due to presence of
and its concentration, the surface structure of the activated
unbalanced or residual forces at the surface of liquid or
carbon and the temperature and pH of the water. For a
solid phase. These unbalanced residual forces have
treatment system with a specific type of carbon and a
known substance, there is a relationship between the
amount of adsorbed matter per unit of weight of carbon
and the equilibrium concentration in the water, when
temperature and pH are constant. This relationship is
called an isotherm. The shape of the isotherm can be
described in various mathematical ways. The most well-
known is the Freundlich isotherm:
Equation 1 : 𝑞𝑚𝑎𝑥 = 𝐾 𝑥 𝑐𝑒𝑛
in which: 𝑞𝑚𝑎𝑥 = adsorption capacity of carbon (g/kg)
𝑐𝑒𝑛 = equilibrium concentration of the substance in the
mg
water phase ( )
l
𝑔 the temperature, and “b" is the amount of adsorption when
𝑘𝑔
𝐾 = Freundlich constant 𝑚𝑔
( )𝑛
𝑙 (Czepirski, Balys, & Komorowska-Czepirska, 2000).
𝑛 = 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑡
𝑥 3.0 Methodology
log ( ) = log 𝐾 + 𝑛𝑙𝑜𝑔𝐶
𝑚 The objective of the experiment was to determine the
Equation 2: Logarithmic form of Freundlich Adsorption
Isotherm
Where (x/m) is the weight of the absorbed material per
gram of adsorbent and C is the concentration of the
solution at equilibrium. The term k and n are constants to
be evaluated from experimental data in each case.
There are some limitations of Freundlich adsorption
isotherm. Experimentally it was determined that extent of
adsorption varies directly with pressure till saturation
pressure (Ps) is reached. Beyond that, the point rate of
adsorption saturates even after applying higher pressure.
Thus Freundlich Adsorption Isotherm fails at higher
pressure.
Langmuir Isotherm
The Langmuir equation is based on the assumption that the
solid surface is completely uniform. Deviations from the
equation indicate lack of uniformity in the surface. It
relates the coverage or adsorption of molecules on a solid
surface to gas pressure or concentration of a medium
above the solid surface at a fixed temperature. The
equation was developed by Irving Langmuir in 1916. The
Langmuir isotherm can be derived from either kinetic or
equilibrium arguments and is most commonly applied to
the chemisorption of gases. The equation is stated as:
𝑥 𝑎𝑏𝐶
=
𝑚 1 + 𝑎𝐶
or
𝐶 1 𝐶
𝑥 = 𝑎𝑏 + 𝑏
( )
𝑚
Equation 3: Langmuir Equation
Where (x/m) and C have the same significance as above,
“a” is a constant proportional to the heat of adsorption and
the surface is covered with a monomolecular film
equilibrium constant for the formation of ferric
thiocyanate. The calculations were made using the
equations presented above.
3.1 Materials and Reagents
This experiment required 20 mL 0.2 M Fe(NO3)3, 40 mL
0.002 M KCNS, and distilled water as reagents. For the
materials, we used 6 test tubes, 10 mL graduated cylinder,
50 mL graduated cylinder, ruler, mirror, pipette, aspirator,
and some white paper.
3.2 Procedure
Five (5) dry test tubes of identical size were labelled. By
serial dilution, solutions of ferric nitrate were prepared. A
20ml of 0.20M Fe(NO3)3 was placed in a 25ml graduated
cylinder. The 8ml of this solution was transferred into test
tube 1. The remaining solution in the graduated cylinder
was added with water to bring the volume back to 20ml.
An 8ml of the new solution in the graduated cylinder was
transferred into test tube 2. The procedures were repeated
until 5 different concentrations of Fe(NO3)3 were obtained.
An 8 mL of 0.002 M KCNS was added to every test tube
obtained and a change in color from cloudy-yellow to (Continuation)

blood-red was observed.
Each test tube was wrapped with white paper to lessen the
external light sources that may affect the perception of
color. Test tube 1 served as the standard. By looking down
into the solutions in the test tube, the color intensities of
the solutions in test tubes 1 and 2 were compared. This
process was aided by placing the test tubes in the presence
of smartphone flashlight; a mirror can also be used in this
process.
Then, one of the cuvettes were replaced with the
Mixture 1 that contains undiluted FeCNS2+ placed in
a cuvette filled with around 2/3 of the total volume.
The measurement of absorbance was then recorded by
a printer directly connected to the spectrophotometer.
The measurement of absorbance was gathered from
400 nm to 700 nm with 20 nm intervals. The
experiment was repeated with Mixture 2, 3, 4 and 5 as
the sample.
The data gathered were then tabulated and
plotted with respect to the absorbance and
wavelength.

The height of the solution in test tube 2 was adjusted by 4.0 Results and Discussion

the addition of some 0.002 M KCNS solution until the Test Tube
1 2 3 4 5
No.
observed color intensities appeared equal. The heights of
Before 0.025 0.0125 0.00625
0.1M 0.05 M
the solutions in test tubes 1 and 2 were measured using a [Fe3+] M M M
Mixing 0.002 0.002
ruler. The procedures for measuring the heights were 0.002 M 0.002 M 0.002 M
[CNS-] M M
repeated for test tubes 3, 4 and 5. By assuming that the hs (height
10.2
of xxx 10.6 cm 9.6 cm 8.5 cm
entire limiting reagent in test tube 1 was converted to the cm
standard)
hu (height
complex, the concentration of the complex in the test tubes of xxx 11.1 cm
11.1
11.1 cm 11.1 cm
cm
2-5 was calculated using Beer-Lambert’s law. unknown)
0.049045 0.0240 0.01163 5.484 x
[Fe3+] xxx
M 81 M 5M 10-3 M
3.3 Theoretical Framework 4.5 x 10-5 8.1 x 1.35 x 2.34 x
[CNS-] xxx
M 10-5 M 10-4 M 10-4 M
9.55 x 10-4 9.19 x 8.65 x 7.66 x
[FeCNS2+] M
M 10-4 M 10-4 M 10-4 M

Label Keq xxx 432.71 471.15 550.7 596.92

5 test
tube
Keq Ave 512.87
Table 1. Experiment results and equilibrium constant of the system.

Serial dilution of
ferric nitritrate

Figure 1. Light absorbance of the Five (5) mixtures.

20ml of 0.01M of Fe (NO3)3
was placed into a 25ml
graduated cylinder
The Fe(NO3)3 in each test tube was decreased every time
a dilution was made. This affects the amount of the Fe3+
Another method was later introduced in this ion present in every test tube which was supposed to react
experiment. The set-up of the spectrophotometer was
already made by the laboratory faculties. The with the CNS- . During the reaction, the concentrations are
spectrophotometer was calibrated by placing 2 clean
and dry cuvettes were filled with distilled water with equal to the concentration of the complex FeCNS2+ at
at least 3/4 of the total volume of the cuvette on the
spectrophotometer and the wavelength was set to equilibrium because none of the product was present
700 nm and 100% transmittance. before the reaction has proceeded. Therefore, the height of
the standard varies inversely with the concentration of the
complex.
The initial concentration Fe3+ ions on the left side of the
equation force the reaction far to the right, using up nearly
100% of the initial SCN– ions. Using stoichiometry and
the balanced equation, it is assumed that for every mole of
FeSCN2+ produced, one mole of SCN– is used up. Thus
since nearly all of the SCN- ions are consumed in order to
minimize the disturbance, the product’s concentration,
[FeSCN2+], at equilibrium is assumed to be equal to the
initial [SCN–].
Figure 2. Plotting of mixture
Based on the data, the absorbance of each concentration of
the sample has its maximum y-value; means has its highest
peak. In other concentrations, the absorbance reaches
above 1.0 (too much high). This means that the sample is
need to be diluted because the linear absorbance range of
most spectrometers is between 0.1 and 1.0. Greater than
2.0 absorbance means 99% of available light is being
blocked (absorbed) by the sample. And greater than 3.0
means 99.9% of the available light is being blocked by the
sample.
Nevertheless, the absorbance vs. concentration of the
solutions has direct proportionality and inverse logarithmic
relationship between the concentration and light
transmittance as proven in Beer’s Law.
5.0 Conclusions and Recommendation
For the 1st method:
Le Chatelier's principle states that when a system in
dynamic equilibrium is disturbed, the system responds so
as to minimize the disturbance and return the system to a
state of equilibrium. With the data obtained, it can be
concluded that an increase in the concentration of the
reactant or a decrease in the concentration of the product
shifts the direction of the reaction towards the production
of more products to return to the equilibrium position.
Changes in concentration cause a net reaction away from
the added component or toward the removed component.
The CNS- served as the stress ions of the reaction.
Solutions of Ferric Nitrate were made with different
concentrations by adding water to solution for each
deduction of Ferric (III) Nitrate to be used in 5 test tubes.
The molarity decreases with each addition of water
addition of KCNS turns each solution to red because of the
presence of Iron Thiocyanate. Chemical equilibrium is
taking place on these test tubes and chemical equilibrium
among the 5 test tubes are observed by adding Ferric
Nitrate to test tube 2,3 ,4 and 5 and the standard is test
tube 1 with the original concentration of ferric nitrate. the
height of the solutions in each is increasing with
decreasing molarity of diluted Ferric nitrate in each test
tube. Intensity of colors was the same and it can be
assumed that the 5 test tubes are in chemical equilibrium
with one another.
The experimenters recommend a revision of the
experiment. The experiment can be considered as
subjective since it varied to the color perception of the
viewer. Therefore, there is a high risk of human error
possible. The experiment also seemed outdated since
equilibrium constant can be calculated through the use of
modern techniques such as spectrophotometry. To further
improve the experiment, other reactions should also be
tested in order to see the consistency of the Le Châtelier’s
principle. For a more accurate measurement, the test tubes
must be replaced by a flat surface of a container for that Law. Retrieved February 7, 2018, from
Chemistry LibreTexts:
the distribution of the solution is equal throughout the
chem.libretexts.org/Core/Physical_and_Theoretic
container rather than the test tube with a curvature at the al_Chemistry/
Spectroscopy/Electronic_Spectroscopy/Electroni
bottom.
c_Spectroscopy_Basics/The_Beer-
Lambert_Law.
For the 2nd method:
Maron, S.H., Lando, J. B. (1974). Fundamentals of
The wavelength absorbed by a substance in the visible part Physical Chemistry. Chemical Equilibrium (pp.
358-383). New York, NY: Macmillan Publishing
of the spectrum is complementary to the color that we
Co., Inc.
perceive. The "color" is a function of human perception,
7.0 Nomenclature
but absorption of specific wavelengths of light is a
M – Molarity; unit of concentration
function of molecular interaction with light. If a substance
absorbs blue and red light, but not green light, we will see
8.0 Appendices
it as green since that is the only light that reaches us from
A1. Raw Data
that substance. Therefore, when you look at the absorption
spectrum of a green solution, it should show low Test
1 2 3 4 5
Tube No.
absorbance of wavelengths in the green part of the
Before 0.072 0.0432 0.0259
0.2M 0.12 M
spectrum but high absorption of light in the red and blue [Fe3+] M M M

parts of the visible spectrum. While the "color" of a Mixing 0.002 0.002
0.002 M 0.002 M 0.002 M
[CNS-] M M
substance depends on the person observing it, absorption hs (height
10.2
of xxx 10.6 cm 9.6 cm 8.5 cm
of specific wavelengths depends on the molecular cm
standard)
hu (height
structure of the substance. 11.1
of xxx 11.1 cm 11.1 cm 11.1 cm
cm
unknown)
0.04904 0.0240 0.01163 5.484 x
And base on the data gathered, the application of [Fe3+] xxx
5M 81 M 5M 10-3 M
spectrophotometry is that the proportion of light that is 4.5 x 10- 8.1 x 1.35 x 2.34 x
[CNS-] xxx 5
M 10-5 M 10-4 M 10-4 M
absorbed by a solution of a particular compound is a [FeCNS2+ 9.55 x 9.19 x 8.65 x 7.66 x
M
function of the concentration of that compound. And ] 10-4 M 10-4 M 10-4 M 10-4 M

according to the Beer-Lambert Law, absorbance is Keq xxx 432.71 471.15 550.7 596.92

proportional to concentration, so that at dilute solutions a Keq Ave 512.87

plot of concentration vs. absorbance would be straight line,
Table 1: Experimental results.
but the Law breaks down for solutions of higher
concentration, and so you might get a curve under those A2. Analysis of Data and Sample Computation
circumstances.

6.0 Literature Cited

Burger, K. (1983). Solvation, Ionic, and Complex
Formation in Non-Aqueous Solvent:
Experimental Methods for the Investigation.
Elsevier Scientific Pub. Co.: Amsterdam-New
York.
Image 1: Different mixtures to be used.
Clark, J., Gunawarderna, G. (2017). The Beer-Lambert
 Test tube 4:
20𝑚𝑙 𝑜𝑓 0.0432𝑀 𝐹𝑒(𝑁𝑂3 )3 − 8𝑚𝑙 𝑡𝑜 𝑡𝑒𝑠𝑡 𝑡𝑢𝑏𝑒 4
= 12𝑚𝑙 0.0432𝑀 𝐹𝑒(𝑁𝑂3 )3 𝑟𝑒𝑚𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔
12𝑚𝑙 0.0432𝑀 𝐹𝑒(𝑁𝑂3 )3 + 8𝑚𝑙 𝐻2 𝑂 = 20𝑚𝑙 𝑠𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛
12𝑚𝑙 𝑥 0.0432𝑀 𝐹𝑒(𝑁𝑂3 )3 = 𝐶 𝑥 20𝑚𝑙
𝐶 = 0.02592𝑀 𝐹𝑒(𝑁𝑂3 )3

Test tube 5:
20𝑚𝑙 𝑜𝑓 0.02592𝑀 𝐹𝑒(𝑁𝑂3 )3 − 8𝑚𝑙 𝑡𝑜 𝑡𝑒𝑠𝑡 𝑡𝑢𝑏𝑒 5
= 12𝑚𝑙 0.02592𝑀 𝐹𝑒(𝑁𝑂3 )3 𝑟𝑒𝑚𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔
12𝑚𝑙 0.02592𝑀 𝐹𝑒(𝑁𝑂3 )3 + 8𝑚𝑙 𝐻2 𝑂 = 20𝑚𝑙 𝑠𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛
12𝑚𝑙 𝑥 0.02592𝑀 𝐹𝑒(𝑁𝑂3 )3 = 𝐶 𝑥 20𝑚𝑙
Image 2: The “then and now” comparative analysis 𝐶 = 0.01552𝑀 𝐹𝑒(𝑁𝑂3 )3

𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑐 ′ 𝑛𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑡
Keq =
𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑐 ′ 𝑛𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑡

9.55 𝑥 10−4
Keq =
(4.5𝑥10−5)(0.049045)
= 432.71

9.19 𝑥 10−4
Keq =
(8.1𝑥10−5)(0.024081)
= 471.15

8.65 𝑥 10−4
Keq =
(1.35𝑥10−4)(0.011635)
= 550.70
Image 3: Adding of 0.002 KCNS

7.66 𝑥 10−4
Keq =
(2.34𝑥10−4)(5.484𝑥10−3)
= 596.92

432.71+ 471.15 + 550.70+ 596.92

Kave = = 512.87
4

Image 4: Checking of color equality.

Test tube 1:
20𝑚𝑙 𝑜𝑓 0.20𝑀 𝐹𝑒(𝑁𝑂3 )3 − 8𝑚𝑙 𝑡𝑜 𝑡𝑒𝑠𝑡 𝑡𝑢𝑏𝑒 1
= 12𝑚𝑙 0.20𝑀 𝐹𝑒(𝑁𝑂3 )3 𝑟𝑒𝑚𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔

12𝑚𝑙 0.20𝑀 𝐹𝑒(𝑁𝑂3 )3 + 8𝑚𝑙 𝐻2 𝑂 = 20𝑚𝑙 𝑠𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛

12𝑚𝑙 𝑥 0.20𝑀 𝐹𝑒(𝑁𝑂3 )3 = 𝐶 𝑥 20𝑚𝑙

𝐶 = 0.12𝑀 𝐹𝑒(𝑁𝑂3 )3

Test tube 2:
20𝑚𝑙 𝑜𝑓 0.12𝑀 𝐹𝑒(𝑁𝑂3 )3 − 8𝑚𝑙 𝑡𝑜 𝑡𝑒𝑠𝑡 𝑡𝑢𝑏𝑒 2
= 12𝑚𝑙 0.12𝑀 𝐹𝑒(𝑁𝑂3 )3 𝑟𝑒𝑚𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔
12𝑚𝑙 0.12𝑀 𝐹𝑒(𝑁𝑂3 )3 + 8𝑚𝑙 𝐻2 𝑂 = 20𝑚𝑙 𝑠𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛
12𝑚𝑙 𝑥 0.12𝑀 𝐹𝑒(𝑁𝑂3 )3 = 𝐶 𝑥 20𝑚𝑙
𝐶 = 0.072𝑀 𝐹𝑒(𝑁𝑂3 )3

Test tube 3:
20𝑚𝑙 𝑜𝑓 0.072𝑀 𝐹𝑒(𝑁𝑂3 )3 − 8𝑚𝑙 𝑡𝑜 𝑡𝑒𝑠𝑡 𝑡𝑢𝑏𝑒 3
= 12𝑚𝑙 0.072𝑀 𝐹𝑒(𝑁𝑂3 )3 𝑟𝑒𝑚𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔
12𝑚𝑙 0.072𝑀 𝐹𝑒(𝑁𝑂3 )3 + 8𝑚𝑙 𝐻2 𝑂 = 20𝑚𝑙 𝑠𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛
12𝑚𝑙 𝑥 0.072𝑀 𝐹𝑒(𝑁𝑂3 )3 = 𝐶 𝑥 20𝑚𝑙
𝐶 = 0.0432𝑀 𝐹𝑒(𝑁𝑂3 )3