Adiabatic adsorption, breakthrough curves

Except for the limiting case of the irreversible isotherm discussed above the prediction of the temperature and concentration profiles requires the simultaneous solution of the coupled differential heat and mass balance equations which describe the system. The earliest general numerical solutions for a nonisothermal adsorption column appear to have been given almost simultaneously by Carter and by Meyer and Weber. These studies all deal with binary adiabatic or near adiabatic systems with a small concentration of an adsorbable species in an inert carrier. Except for a difference in the form of the equilibrium relationship and the inclusion of intraparticle heat conduction and finite heat loss from the column wall in the work of Meyer and Weber, the mathematical models are similar. In both studies the predictive value of the mathematical model was confirmed by comparing experimental nonisothermal temperature and concentration breakthrough curves with the theoretical curves calculated from the model using the experimental equilibrium... 

The general guidelines for developing a gas separation process based on adsorption are reviewed. Two important industrial cases based on adsorption processes are selected the separation of propane/propylene mixtures and n/iso-paraffins mixtures. The 13X zeolite and Ag -Amberlyst were used as adsorbent for propane/propylene mixture taking into account information from the open literature. The 5A zeolite was selected for n/iso-paraffins system the adsorption equilibrium and diffusivity data were obtained from gravimetric and ZLC techniques respectively. A mathematical model for the bulk separation in fixed bed upon non-isothermal non-adiabatic conditions is formulated and solved numerically. The simulated results are compared with the available experimental breakthrough curves. Finally, a cyclic process based in the PSA-VSA and TSA concepts is proposed for these systems. 

Marcussen, L., and Vinding, C., Comparison of experimental and predicted breakthrough curves for adiabatic adsorption in fixed beds, Chem. Eng. Sci.. 37(2). 299-318 (1982). 

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