Multicomponent Equilibrium Adsorption on Heterogeneous Adsorbents

A generalized method for prediction of multicomponent adsorption is suggested based on representing that adsorbent volume as energetically inhomogeneous. The method depends on extending the Polanyi potential theory to mixture adsorption. The main feature of the method is that, at constant partial pressure and temperature the composition of an adsorbed phase is not uniform over its volume. Results of applying this theory to non-porous adsorbents have been considered. The prediction ability of the theory is confirmed for the strongly non-ideal system acetone–chloroform–graphitized carbon black. It was shown that the departure from ideal behavior of adsorbed phase is quite close to that for the liquid mixture. Another system considered was oxygen–nitrogen–anatase at 78 K. Although this mixture is ideal, it has been found that there is significant variation in composition over the adsorbed layer due to the difference in the interactions of the quadrupolar N₂ molecule and nonpolar O₂ molecule with the anatase surface.