HEAT-EFFECTS IN ADSORPTION COLUMN DYNAMICS .2. EXPERIMENTAL VALIDATION OF THE ONE-DIMENSIONAL MODEL

The effect of thermal gradients on the dynamic response of an adsorption column has been investigated experimentally by measuring adsorption and desorption breakthrough curves and corresponding temperature profiles (both radial and axial) in a series of adsorption columns with internal diameters ranging from 0.77 to 7.9 cm. The departure from isothermal conditions becomes more pronounced as the column diameter is increased, and this leads to a corresponding broadening of the experimental breakthrough curves. Desorption is almost isothermal, and as a result, the response is practically independent of the column diameter. It is shown that the major resistance to heat transfer is at the column wall, and a simple one-dimensional model with all heat-transfer resistance concentrated at the column wall provides a good representation of the experimentally observed behavior. © 1990, American Chemical Society. All rights reserved.