Non-isothermal Modelling of Hydrocarbon Adsorption on A Granulated Active Carbon

The adsorption of n -butane on extruded cylindrical activated carbon grains is studied providing two kinds of information: the influence of the temperature and the hydrocarbon partial pressure on the adsorption dynamics (kinetic study) and on the adsorption capacities (thermodynamic study). The thermodynamic aspect could be interpreted by a Langmuir model. From a kinetic point of view, we have experimentally proved that strong temperature variations occur inside the particles during the adsorption. In this paper, a kinetic model including both mass and heat transfer phenomena is proposed. Good agreement is found between the kinetic model predictions and the experimental mass and temperature variations inside the grain during the hydrocarbon adsorption. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.