7234
Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 2005, 44, 7234-7241
Pressure Drop in a Packed Bed under Nonadsorbing and Adsorbing Conditions Richard S. Todd and Paul A. Webley* Department of Chemical Engineering, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia
Simulation of cyclic adsorption processes for gas separations relies on accurate models of the bed pressure drop during dynamic pressurization, depressurization, and breakthrough steps. This is especially true for rapid pressure swing adsorption (RPSA), where large gas flows can cause significant changes in the axial pressure gradient through the bed, influencing process performance. Under these conditions, there is some question as to the validity of conventional steady-state models used to represent the dynamic, rapidly changing pressures. In this study, the ability of the steady-state Ergun equation to represent pressure drop under dynamic adsorbing and nonadsorbing conditions was tested. The Ergun equation accurately reproduced dynamic depressurization and breakthrough pressure profiles using values of κviscous and κkinetic (the two Ergun parameters) determined experimentally from the steady-state flow of a variety of gases through a packed bed of LiLSX pellets. The full momentum equation was also tested, and errors of
