The Adsorption of Certain Vapors by Charcoal at Various Temperatures up to and above Their Critical Temperatures

It is perhaps safe to state that no one property of a solid substance has been more persistently studied through so long a period as has been the property of solid porous bodies to adsorb gases and vapors. The phenomenon of the adsorption of gases and vapors by charcoal was originally discovered independently by Scheele1 and by Fontana1 in 1777. In the century following much was contributed which deals with the general qualitative side of adsorption. It was not until the beginning of the present century and more particularly with the advent of poison gas warfare and the consequent demand for gas mask adsorbents that an intensive study of charcoal and its properties was undertaken. Since then many investigations have been made and a number of theories have been put forth in the attempt to explain the mechanism of adsorption and to deduce laws governing it