Pure and Binary Adsorption Equilibria of Methane and Carbon Dioxide on Silicalite

Abstract

For the separation of CH₄ and CO₂ from landfill gas, pure and binary adsorption behavior of these gases were studied up to 5 atmosphere pressure at 40, 70, and 100°C for silicalite as the adsorbent. Pure and binary adsorption isotherms were determined experimentally and compared to predicted isotherms by several equilibrium models, as well as the other available data in the literature. Experimental binary isotherms at different concentrations were determined by using three concentration pulse methods (CPM). HT–CPM (Harlick‐Tezel CPM) was observed to be the best one to describe the behavior of this binary system. Equilibrium phase diagrams and separation factors were obtained from the experimental binary isotherms. For this system, the integral thermodynamic consistency tests were also shown and discussed.

Keywords:

• Gas separation
• adsorption
• carbon dioxide
• methane
• concentration pulse method
• landfill gases
• isotherms
• silicalite
• greenhouse gases

Acknowledgments

Financial supports received from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), the Ontario Graduate Scholarship (OGS) Program, and the Canadian Society for Chemical Engineering (CSChE) are gratefully acknowledged.