Temperature Measurements to Characterize Dispersion Within PSA Beds

Abstract

PSA experiments using a two-bed, laboratory-scale (100 Standard Liters per Minute [SLPM]) system equipped with in-bed temperature and vapor-phase concentration probes were performed using trichlorofluoromethane (R-11) as the feed contaminant and air as the carrier. In-bed, vapor-phase concentrations at each axial position were measured and correlated to the magnitude of the temperature swings during a cycle. PSA experiments were then conducted using a full-scale (5,660 SLPM) system with difluorochloromethane (R-22) and 13X molecular sieve. Fourteen temperature probes were placed within a bed at different radial and axial positions. Using the temperature-concentration correlation, it was possible to construct a visual representation of the dispersion characteristics of the larger beds.