Two-dimensional modeling of volatile organic compounds adsorption onto beaded activated carbon

A two-dimensional heterogeneous computational fluid dynamics model was developed and validated to study the mass, heat, and momentum transport in a fixed-bed cylindrical adsorber during the adsorption of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from a gas stream onto a fixed bed of beaded activated carbon (BAC). Experimental validation tests revealed that the model predicted the breakthrough curves for the studied VOCs (acetone, benzene, toluene, and 1,2,4-trimethylbenzene) as well as the pressure drop and temperature during benzene adsorption with a mean relative absolute error of 2.6, 11.8, and 0.8%, respectively. Effects of varying adsorption process variables such as carrier gas temperature, superficial velocity, VOC loading, particle size, and channelling were investigated. The results obtained from this study are encouraging because they show that the model was able to accurately simulate the transport processes in an adsorber and can potentially be used for enhancing absorber design and operation.

Volumetric apparatus for hydrogen adsorption and diffusion measurements: sources of systematic error and impact of their experimental resolutions

The development of a volumetric apparatus (also known as a Sieverts' apparatus) for accurate and reliable hydrogen adsorption measurement is shown. The instrument minimizes the sources of systematic errors which are mainly due to inner volume calibration, stability and uniformity of the temperatures, precise evaluation of the skeletal volume of the measured samples, and thermodynamical properties of the gas species. A series of hardware and software solutions were designed and introduced in the apparatus, which we will indicate as f-PcT, in order to deal with these aspects. The results are represented in terms of an accurate evaluation of the equilibrium and dynamical characteristics of the molecular hydrogen adsorption on two well-known porous media. The contribution of each experimental solution to the error propagation of the adsorbed moles is assessed. The developed volumetric apparatus for gas storage capacity measurements allows an accurate evaluation over a 4 order-of-magnitude pressure range (from 1 kPa to 8 MPa) and in temperatures ranging between 77 K and 470 K. The acquired results are in good agreement with the values reported in the literature.

Online sample conditioning for portable breath analyzers

Various innovative chemical sensors have been developed in recent years to sense dangerous substances in air and trace biomarkers in breath. However, in order to solve real world problems, the sensors must be equipped with efficient sample conditioning that can, e.g., control the humidity, which is discussed much less in the literature. To meet the demand, a miniaturized mouthpiece was developed for personal breath analyzers. A key function of the mouthpiece is to condition the humidity in real breath samples without changing the analyte concentrations and introducing substantial backpressure, which is achieved with optimized packing of desiccant particles. Numerical simulations were carried out to determine the performance of the mouthpiece in terms of various controllable parameters, such as the size, density, and geometry of the packing. Mouthpieces with different configurations were built and tested, and the experimental data validated the simulation findings. A mouthpiece with optimized performance reducing relative humidity from 95% (27,000 ppmV) to 29% (8000 ppmV) whereas retaining 92% nitric oxide (50 ppbV to 46 ppbV) was built and integrated into a hand-held exhaled nitric oxide sensor, and the performance of exhaled nitric oxide measurement was in good agreement with the gold standard chemiluminescence technique. Acetone, carbon dioxide, oxygen, and ammonia samples were also measured after passing through the desiccant mouthpiece using commercial sensors to examine wide applicability of this breath conditioning approach.

Modelling of NO adsorption in fixed bed on activated carbon

Adsorption experiments of nitric oxide in nitrogen carrier gas were held on activated carbon in a fixed bed flow system. Breakthrough curves describing the dependence of exit concentrations of nitric oxide on time were matched with theoretical response curves calculated from the linear driving force model (LDF). The model assumes Langmuir adsorption isotherm for the description of non-linear equilibrium and overall mass transfer coefficient for mass transfer mechanism. Overall mass transfer coefficients were obtained by the method of least squares for fitting numerically modelled breakthrough curves with experimental breakthrough curves. It was found that LDF model fits all the breakthrough curves and it is a useful tool for modelling purposes.

Modeling the effect of structural changes during dynamic separation processes on MOFs

A model able to describe the effect of structural changes in the adsorbent or adsorbed phase during the dynamic (breakthrough) separation of mixtures on metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) is presented. The methodology is exemplified for a few pertinent case studies: the separation of xylene isomers and ethylbenzene on the flexible MOF MIL-53 and the rigid MOF MIL-47. At low pressures, no preferential adsorption of any component occurs on both MOFs. Contrarily, at higher pressures separation of ethylbenzene (EB) from o-xylene (oX) occurs on MIL-53 as a result of the breathing phenomenon within the MIL-53 structure. The increase in selectivity, starting from the gate-opening pressure, could be modeled by using a pressure-dependent saturation capacity for the most strongly adsorbed component oX. In the separation of m-xylene (mX) from p-xylene (pX) on the rigid MOF MIL-47, separation at higher pressures is a result of preferential stacking of pX. Here, the selectivity increases once the adsorption of pX switches from a single to a double file adsorption. By implementing a loading dependent adsorption constant for pX, the different unconventional breakthrough profiles and the observed selectivity profile on MIL-47 can be simulated. A similar methodology was used for the separation of EB from pX on MIL-47, where the separation is a result from steric constraints imposed onto the adsorption of EB.

A comparison of the Wheeler-Jonas model and the linear driving force at constant-pattern model for the prediction of the service time of activated carbon cartridges

The linear driving force (LDF) model is applied to predict the service life of activated carbon cartridges. It is compared with the currently used Wheeler-Jonas equation, which results from a model of chemical reaction kinetics. The LDF model is based on a mass transfer model of adsorbate into the particle. The two models are studied in constant-pattern conditions. The properties of the two models are first clarified and then compared. It is shown that the Wheeler-Jonas equation leads to symmetrical breakthrough curves, whereas the constant-pattern LDF equation results in asymmetrical curves. Thus, the curvature of the isotherm has no influence on the shape of the Wheeler-Jonas curve. For the LDF breakthrough curve, it is shown that the asymmetry increases with the curvature of the isotherm. Wheeler-Jonas can be used with a Dubinin-Raduskevitch isotherm, whereas the LDF model analytical solution is valid for a Langmuir isotherm only. The LDF model can be used with the DR isotherm, but a numerical solution is required. At very low concentrations where the isotherm is linear, the constant pattern no longer exists and both models fail. The Dubinin-Raduskevitch isotherm must be fitted with a Langmuir isotherm to use the analytical solution of the LDF model.

Chemisorption of carbon dioxide on potassium-carbonate-promoted hydrotalcite

New equilibrium and column dynamic data for chemisorption of carbon dioxide from inert nitrogen at 400 and 520 degrees C were measured on a sample of potassium-carbonate-promoted hydrotalcite, which was a reversible chemisorbent for CO(2). The equilibrium chemisorption isotherms were Langmuirian in the low-pressure region (p(CO(2)) < 0.2 atm) with a large gas-solid interaction parameter. The isotherms deviated from Langmuirian behavior in the higher pressure region. A new analytical model that simultaneously accounted for Langmuirian chemisorption of CO(2) on the adsorbent surface and additional reaction between the gaseous and sorbed CO(2) molecules was proposed to describe the measured equilibrium data. The model was also capable of describing the unique loading dependence of the isosteric heat of chemisorption of CO(2) reported in the literature. The column breakthrough curves for CO(2) sorption from inert N(2) on the chemisorbent could be described by the linear driving force (LDF) model in conjunction with the new sorption isotherm. The CO(2) mass-transfer coefficients were (i) independent of feed gas CO(2) concentration in the range of the data at a given temperature and (ii) a weak function of temperature. The ratio of the mass-transfer zone length to the column length was very low due to highly favorable CO(2) sorption equilibrium.

NMR and confocal microscopy studies of the mechanisms of burst drug release from PLGA microspheres

Pulsed-field gradient (PFG) NMR and confocal microscopy techniques have been used to study the structural evolution and drug release profile of poly(d,l-lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) microspheres over time during immersion in an aqueous phase. Variation of the drying process used in the synthesis of the PLGA microspheres has been found to significantly influence the degree of permeability of the spheres to water. PFG NMR has been used to study the change in the cavity sizes within the pore structure of the microspheres over time following initial immersion. In these studies, the temperature of the secondary emulsion, used in the sphere synthesis, has been found to significantly change the temporal evolution of the pore structure. Confocal microscopy studies of the release of a model drug from within the microspheres suggest that the rate-limiting step in drug release is the swelling rate of the polymer matrix, and that the mechanism may be a percolation process. These studies also showed that the local rate of drug release is heterogeneously distributed across a microsphere, and thus, strictly, cannot be modelled as purely a simple diffusive release process from a sphere.

Water vapor adsorption on activated carbon preadsorbed with naphtalene

The adsorption of water vapor on a microporous activated carbon derived from the carbonization of coconut shell has been studied. Preadsorption of naphthalene was used as a tool to determine the location and the influence of the primary adsorbing centers within the porous structure of active carbon. The adsorption was studied in the pressure range p/p0=0-0.95 in a static water vapor system, allowing the investigation of both kinetic and equilibrium experimental data. Modeling of the isotherms using the modified equation of Do and Do was applied to determine the effect of preadsorption on the mechanism of adsorption.