Experimental and modeling studies on the transient behavior of a simulated countercurrent adsorber

Abstract

This paper presents a dynamic model which includes axial dispersion and interphase mass transfer for a simulated countercurrent adsorption separation process, together with a numerical technique based on the method of orthogonal collection for the solution of the governing partial differential equations. It is shown that the experimental transient behavior may be predicted by modeling the system in terms of an equivalent true countercurrent process provided that the inherent limitation of this approach is noted. This approach nonetheless provides a handy tool for predicting the time required for the system to approach quasi-steady state.