FREQUENCY-RESPONSE OF AN ADSORBER WITH MODULATION OF THE INLET MOLAR FLOW-RATE - I - A SEMIBATCH ADSORBER

A new method of frequency response analysis of an adsorber, with modul ation of the adsorbate molar supply instead of traditional modulation of the reservoir volume, is presented. A semi-batch mode of operation is considered, for three different types of mass transfer mechanisms i nside the particle: Langmuir kinetics, micropore diffusion and paralle l pore and surface diffusion. Frequency responses to four different mo des of perturbation are investigated: sinusoidal, square wave, triangu lar wave and saw-tooth wave. Except for the sinusoidal input modulatio n, the system pressure response contains higher harmonics, which makes the study of fast dynamics more feasible by using relatively low freq uencies of the input perturbations and analyzing the higher harmonics in the output signal. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserv ed.