To minimize this problem several S6 Kinase inhibitor step-sizes were tested and the model parameters were optimized for each step-size. After this, the value of the objective function was evaluated, being accepted the parameters related to the step-size that presented the lowest value. Regarding the time space-size, the routine used to solve the ODE system (LIMEX) does not use equal time size intervals to solve the equations,

since this method permits an adaptive control of step-size and order. The initial value of the model parameters is very important during their estimation by deterministic methods. As the PSO is a heuristic method, the initial values were selected randomly by an appropriated routine. In heuristic methods, all the range provided is tested and the optimal parameters are selected ALK inhibitor based on a probability, differently of the deterministic methods, where the initial value can determine the optimal solution. According to the kinetic parameters kD related to the dissociation constant, it was found out that the adsorption process is slightly affected in all the cationic forms, because its value is higher than one (with

few exceptions: NaX for FOS and SrX for sucrose), indicating that the desorption rate is higher than the adsorption one. It was also found that the highest value for maximum adsorption capacity (qmax) occurred for the NaX form, what can balance the high desorption rate. The low adsorption capacity and the unfavorable adsorption rates could be due to the high film resistance to mass transfer, as expressed in terms of the film coefficient ks, since for all the situations the estimated values for ks were quite low, including the Na+ form, which presented the lowest external mass transfer resistance, compared to any other Etomidate cationic forms. However, the increase in the adsorption rate does not imply necessarily the increasing of the adsorption capacity, since the external mass transfer is the limiting step

in this process. Since in this heterogeneous system the reaction takes place inside the solid particles, the external and internal mass transfer resistances play an important role. The reaction mechanism could include film diffusion, surface or pore diffusions, capture of solute that could be by chemisorption, physisorption, ion exchange or complexation, amongst others (Khraisheh, Al-Degs, Allen, & Ahmad, 2002). An alternative to investigate these phenomena is to evaluate the model parameters by mean of dimensionless number as Biot and Thiele module. The Biot number presented low values for glucose, fructose and sucrose in most of all the ionic forms, showing that the external mass transfer is the limiting step for the adsorption process of these sugars on the zeolites, corroborating with the above discussion regarding the low values for the film mass transfer coefficient (ks).