Adsorption Equilibrium, Thermodynamic, and Kinetic Study of O 2 /N 2 /CO 2 on Functionalized Granular Activated Carbon.

A volumetric system was used to assess carbon-based adsorbents for evaluation of the gas separation, equilibrium, and kinetics of oxygen (O 2 ), nitrogen (N 2 ), and carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) adsorption on granular activated carbon (GAC) and functionalized GAC at 298, 308, and 318 K under pressures up to 10 bar. The effects of ZnCl 2 , pH, arrangement of the pores, and heat-treatment temperature on the adsorptive capabilities of O 2 , N 2 , and CO 2 were evaluated. High-performance O 2 adsorption resulted with a fine sample (GAC-10-500) generated with a 0.1 wt % loading of ZnCl 2 . The optimal sample structure and morphology were characterized by field-emission scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and powder X-ray diffraction. On the basis of the adsorption-desorption results, the fine GAC provides a surface area of 719 m 2 /g. Moreover, it possessed an average pore diameter of 1.69 nm and a micropore volume of 0.27 m 3 /g. At 298 K, the adsorption capacity of the GAC-10-500 adsorbent improved by 19.75% for O 2 but was not significantly increased for N 2 and CO 2 . Isotherm and kinetic adsorption models were applied to select the model best matching the studied O 2 , N 2 , and CO 2 gas uptake on GAC-10-500 adsorbent. At 298 K and 10 bar, the sip isotherm model with the highest potential adsorption difference sequence and gas adsorption difference compared with pure GAC adsorbent as O 2 > N 2 > CO 2 follows well for GAC-10-500. Eventually, the optimal sample is more effective for O 2 adsorption than other gases.