Sorption properties of polystyrene adsorbents from isotherms of propane and n-butane

Abstract

Adsorption isotherms for propane and n-butane on two polystyrene samples of high and low specific surface areas were obtained from measurements of transmission or breakthrough curves. These isotherms were analyzed to extract the parameters that characterize the energetic heterogeneity of polystyrene. The energetic heterogeneity of the sample with low specific surface area reflects only the surface heterogeneity of polystyrene; therefore, this sample was used as a reference system to study the polystyrene sample with a high specific surface area. Analysis of the adsorption isotherm suggests that the sample with a high specific surface area possesses micropores that increase its energetic heterogeneity in comparison to that observed for the sample with low specific surface area.