Determination of the Porous Structure of Activated Carbons Using the IAE Concept. Influence of the Local Adsorption Model

In this paper we study a method for the determination of the micropore volume distribution function of activated carbons. This method is based on the Integral Adsorption Equation concept (IAE). The micropore volume distribution function is assumed to be a Gaussian of which the parameters are unknown. These parameters are determined using adsorption isotherms of carbon dioxide on a given activated carbon (F30/470 CHEMVIRON CARBON) at 278, 288, 298, 303, 308, 318 and 328 K and for pressures up to 100 kPa. Several local adsorption models are used (Langmuir, Volmer, Fowler-Guggenheim, Hill-de Boer). The influence of the choice of the local model on the pore volume distribution function is discussed. The physical validity of this function and the performances of the different models are presented. It appears that the effect of the temperature on the adsorption isotherms is difficult to model over a wide range of relative pressure. The Hill-de Boer and the Langmuir local models are the most efficient (average errors respectively equal to 3.53% and 2.80% in the studied range of temperature and pressure). They provide the most meaningful parameters for the pore volume distribution function.