Sorption and modeling of mass transfer of toxic chemical vapors in activated-carbon fiber-cloth adsorbers

Energy and Fuels
By: , and 

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Abstract

A new activated-carbon fiber-cloth (ACFC) adsorber coupled with an electrothermal regenerator and a cryogenic condenser was designed and developed to efficiently capture and recover toxic chemical vapors (TCVs) from simulated industrial gas streams. The system was characterized for adsorption by ACFC, electrothermal desorption, and cryogenic condensation to separate acetone and methyl ethyl ketone from gas streams. Adsorption dynamics are numerically modeled to predict system characteristics during scale-up and optimization of the process in the future. The model requires diffusivities of TCVs into an activated-carbon fiber (ACF) as an input. Effective diffusivities of TCVs into ACFs were modeled as a function of temperature, concentration, and pore size distribution. Effective diffusivities for acetone at 65 °C and 30−60 ppmv were measured using a chromatography method. The energy factor for surface diffusion was determined from comparison between the experimental and modeled effective diffusivities. The modeled effective diffusivities were used in a dispersive computational model to predict mass transfer zones of TCVs in fixed beds of ACFC under realistic conditions for industrial applications.

Publication type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Title Sorption and modeling of mass transfer of toxic chemical vapors in activated-carbon fiber-cloth adsorbers
Series title Energy and Fuels
DOI 10.1021/ef980118p
Volume 12
Issue 6
Year Published 1998
Language English
Publisher American Chemical Society
Description 10 p.
First page 1079
Last page 1088
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