A Sensitive Method Approach for Chromatographic Analysis of Gas Streams in Separation Processes Based on Columns Packed with an Adsorbent Material

I A A C Esteves,G M R P L Sousa,M F J Eusébio,R J S Silva,J P B Mota,R P P L Ribeiro

doi:10.1155/2016/3216267

I A A C Esteves, G M R P L Sousa + Show 4 more

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https://doi.org/10.1155/2016/3216267

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Abstract

A sensitive method was developed and experimentally validated for the in-line analysis and quantification of gaseous feed and product streams of separation processes under research and development based on column chromatography. The analysis uses a specific mass spectrometry method coupled to engineering processes, such as Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA) and Simulated Moving Bed (SMB), which are examples of popular continuous separation technologies that can be used in applications such as natural gas and biogas purifications or carbon dioxide sequestration. These processes employ column adsorption equilibria on adsorbent materials, thus requiring real-time gas stream composition quantification. For this assay, an internal standard is assumed and a single-point calibration is used in a simple mixture-specific algorithm. The accuracy of the method was found to be between 0.01% and 0.25% (-mol) for mixtures of CO2, CH4, and N2, tested as case-studies. This makes the method feasible for streams with quality control levels that can be used as a standard monitoring and analyzing procedure.

Highlights

IntroductionAdsorption separation is a phenomenon in which one or more components of a fluid (adsorbate) are extracted via selective bonding to a solid (adsorbent) medium [1,2,3]
Adsorption separation is a phenomenon in which one or more components of a fluid are extracted via selective bonding to a solid medium [1,2,3]
Much progress has been achieved in improving their performance with respect to both the process economics and the attainable purity of the products by investigating new process configurations or giving a better reuse to some topical waste gases like biogas produced from biomass [4]

Summary

Introduction

Adsorption separation is a phenomenon in which one or more components of a fluid (adsorbate) are extracted via selective bonding to a solid (adsorbent) medium [1,2,3]. This is the basis for every adsorption separation process. Periodic adsorption processes, such as single or multibed Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA), have been extensively developed and applied in industry for gas separation and are energy efficient alternatives to other separation techniques such as cryogenic distillation. The feasibility of SMB operation for gas separation has been addressed and its feasibility demonstrated, with focus on cyclic modulation of the internal flow rates [5, 6]

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