Breakthrough data analysis of adsorption of volatile organic compounds on granular activated carbon

Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) such as methanol, ethanol, methyl ethyl keton, benzene, n-propanol, toluene, and o-xylene were adsorbed in a laboratory-scale packed-bed adsorber using granular activated carbon (GAC) at 101.3 kPa. The adsorber was operated batchwise to obtain the breakthrough curves of VOCs under the adsorption conditions such as adsorption temperatures (298-323 K), flow rates of nitrogen ($60{\times}10^{-6}$-$150{\times}10^{-6}m^3/min$), GAC amount of 0.002 kg, and concentration of VOCs (3,000-6,000 ppmv). The adsorption kinetics was obtained by fitting the experimental breakthrough data to the deactivation model, combining the adsorption of VOCs and the deactivation of GAC. The adsorption isotherm, and adsorbed amount and adsorption heat of VOCs were obtained using the breakthrough curve: the former for comparison with the conventional isotherm models, the latter for correlation with the physical properties of VOCs.