Specific Surface Area (SSA)

Specific Surface area (SSA) is a property of solids measured as area per unit weight (e.g. m²/g).  Surface area can significantly influence the chemical and physical characteristics of a material such as physical adsorption of molecules and ions or heat gain and loss resulting from adsorption, shrinking, and swelling. In soils or unconsolidated reservoir samples, surface area can vary dramatically due to the texture, clay minerals and organic content.  We currently offer the polar solvent adsorption method for measuring SSA.  This method is based on the fact that solid materials adsorb polar molecules to form a monomolecular layer on the soil surface. This method is used as a simple and inexpensive technique and yet allows a rapid determination of SSA.