A new model to describe the sorption of surfactants on solids in non-aqueous media.

A new phenomenological model is developed to describe the sorption of surfactants on solids in non-aqueous media. This is based on the use of interaction parameters (delta) among solid, solute and solvent to assess the degree of the various interactions and computing an effective interaction parameter for the entire system represented by delta eff = abs{A|delta solid - delta solvent| + B|delta solute - delta solvent| - C|delta solid - delta solute|}. The effective interaction parameter determines the extent of adsorption that can occur in a given system. Interaction parameters typically account for dispersive interactions between the different components. This new model is used to describe the sorption behavior of a number of surfactant/solvent/solid systems.