What do you understand by activation of adsorbent? How is it achieved?

(N/A) Activation of an adsorbent refers to the process of increasing its adsorbing power.
Some ways to achieve this are:
$(i)$ By increasing the surface area of the adsorbent: This is achieved by breaking the adsorbent into smaller pieces or converting it into a fine powder.
$(ii)$ By specific chemical or physical treatments: For example,wood charcoal is activated by heating it between $650 \ K$ and $1330 \ K$ in vacuum or air. This process expels all previously adsorbed gases,thereby creating more vacant sites for the adsorption of other gases.