Effect of variable feed concentration on the performance of a pressure swing adsorption process

Effects of variable feed composition on the performance of a pressure swing adsorption process are analyzed by simulation. Two scenarios are considered. The first, ''increasing impurity,'' case considers low impurity concentration in the feed followed by high impurity concentration in the feed. The second, ''decreasing impurity,'' case considers high impurity concentration in the feed followed by low impurity concentration in the feed. These results are compared against a case which has an impurity concentration in the feed at an average of the high and the low impurity concentrations. Simulations show that the increasing impurity scenario is expected to perform better, and the decreasing impurity scenario is expected to perform worse than the average feed concentration case.