Experimental and Theoretical Studies of VOC Adsorption on Acid-Activated Bentonite in a Fixed-Bed Adsorber

Abstract

In this work, the adsorption of toluene onto acid-activated bentonite in a fixed bed using an inverse gas chromatography was investigated. Adsorbent was prepared according to an optimized activation process. Experimental and theoretical studies were established to evaluate the removal efficiency of toluene by adsorption on acid-activated bentonite and to predict kinetics parameters. A suitable adsorption model has been developed to simulate the measured data based on linear driving force approximation. The fourth-order Runge−Kutta method was used to integrate the partial differential equations, and the resulting functions were simultaneously solved to obtain the breakthrough profiles. Theoretical predictions from the model were compared with column adsorption data to ensure the validity of the model. Adequate agreement between simulations and experimental data was reached.