Bed Adsorption Research Articles

A novel non-dimensional investigation of two-bed adsorption cooling/desalination systems

This paper adopts a novel dimensionless investigation of a two-bed adsorption cooling/desalination system. In this regard, various independent dimensionless parameters are introduced. This study carries out parametric and normalized sensitivity analyses to explore the independent dimensionless parameters that significantly affect the cooling/desalination performance of the system. The coefficient of performance is used to assess the system’s cooling performance. On the other hand, a new performance index for water production is adopted. It is defined as the energy coefficient of adsorption desalination. It is observed that the system performance is more sensitive to the variation of the multiplier constant of the adsorption kinetics equation than the variation of the power constant of the adsorption isotherm equation. As the latent-to-isosteric heat ratio increases from 0.5 to 1, a performance enhancement of about 85% takes place. A significant influence is found for a parameter called the dimensionless heat capacity of the adsorption bed. As it increases from 0.2 to 2, a considerable drop of about 40% is noticed in both the coefficient of performance and the energy coefficient of adsorption desalination. A noticeable enhancement in the system performance is recorded as the dimensionless heat capacity rate of the heating fluid increases.

DESIGN OF A FIXED BED ADSORPTION COLUMN AND MODELLING OF OPERATING PARAMETERS FOR THE REMOVAL OF METHYLENE BLUE IN DYNAMIC MODE

This study investigates the potential of using the mixture of titaniferous sand and attapulgite as adsorbents in a fixed bed adsorption process to remove a synthetic dye such as methylene blue in aqueous media. The different adsorbents were characterised by X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy and infrared spectroscopy. The different physico-chemical parameters such as pH, zero charge potential, bulk and absolute density, porosity and specific surface area were determined. The sizing algorithm used resulted in a number of transfer units (NUT) equal to 20.109, a height of transfer unit (HUT) equal to 0.515, a material transfer coefficient (Kya) equal to 3.159 and a height of the column (Z) equal to 1.05m. The influence of different experimental parameters such as initial dye concentration, adsorbent bed height and feed rate on the breakthrough curve was investigated. Various simple mathematical models such as Adams-Bohart and Thomas were applied in order to study the dynamic behaviour of the column and to estimate some kinetic coefficients through the experimental data obtained from the dynamic studies performed on the fixed bed. The results showed that the Thomas and Adams-Bohart models perfectly describe the behaviour of the breakthrough curves with values of coefficients of determination R2 that are higher than 0.90 except for the concentration of the dye equal to 50mg/L which has a coefficient R2 equal to 0.88.

Adsorption of H2 in porous solid sorbents using a two-phase modelling approach

The increasing energy demand, depleting fossil fuel reserves and increasing greenhouse gas emissions have initiated the search for cleaner and more affordable energy sources. Hydrogen is considered a major energy source due to its high calorific value. The physisorption of H2 on a porous material is an attractive alternative for its storage. This paper presents a two-fluid equation-based model benchmarked against an experimental work on hydrogen storage in an activated carbon packed bed reported in the literature. The computational model is implemented in Ansys Fluent 21.1.0 to solve the hydrodynamic and thermal interaction between the gas and solid phases along with the mass transfer due to adsorption. Adsorption isotherm is calculated from the modified Dubinin-Astakhov (D-A) equation, while the resultant mass transfer is determined from the Linear Driving Force (LDF) model. These equations are incorporated into the model with the help of User Defined Functions (UDF). The predicted pressure, local bed temperature, and adsorption values show a good match with the experimental results. In addition, the sensitivity of different thermal and material properties revealed that a denser adsorbent bed and a high value of thermal properties improve the performance of the H2 storage in the tank.

Assessment of dual-adsorbent beds for CO[formula omitted] capture by equilibrium-based process design

We have carried out a model-based assessment of dual-adsorbent beds for post-combustion CO2 capture, whereby we consider systems in which two distinct adsorbent materials are homogeneously mixed to form a fixed bed adsorber. We have employed an equilibrium-based process model (D-BAAM) to simulate and optimize the process performance of a four-step vacuum swing adsorption cycle for CO2 capture with a dual-adsorbent bed. We have used the developed framework to screen the performance of 2,850 binary combinations of adsorbents from a database of 76 promising materials for post-combustion capture, which includes zeolites, activated carbons, metal organic frameworks (MOFs) and zeolitic imidazolate frameworks (ZIFs). Through unconstrained purity/recovery process optimization, we determine that only one pure material in a material pair needs to itself satisfy regulatory constraints on CO2 purity/recovery for post-combustion capture to yield a dual-adsorbent process which satisfies the constraints. For these dual-adsorbent combinations, we have assessed the optimal process performance in the constrained working capacity/energy usage Pareto plane and have identified nine distinct categories of process behavior. Five of these categories have the potential to allow for a reduction in the energy penalty of the separation, as compared to the constituent single-adsorbent processes. We have observed reductions in the energy penalty of the separation of approximately 20%. We contend that such processes may be economically optimal depending on a process specific balance of capital, operating and material costs, and should be investigated in more detail using dynamic process modeling and an associated techno-economic assessment.

Precise heating of adsorption sites induced by visible light irradiation

Adsorption is an effective technique for CO2 capture but releasing CO2 from adsorbents is energy-intensive because of low thermal conduction in fixed adsorption beds and massive energy loss. Here, Ag nanoparticles were targeted at active sites and used as nanoheaters by surface plasmon resonance effect to precisely heat adsorption sites. UiO-66-NH2 was selected as the typical CO2 adsorbent, and Ag+ ions were used to coordinate with the –NH2 groups and then in-situ reduced to Ag nanoparticles. Under visible-light irradiation, Ag nanoparticles convert light energy to heat and transfer heat to the nearby active sites rapidly, resulting in the efficient temperature elevating of active sites. CO2 can receive the energy for desorption without long-distance heat transfer. The adsorbent can be readily heated by 25 ℃ within 10 min and achieve almost 100% desorption of CO2 upon light irradiation during the test of the isotherm at room temperature. In contrast, pristine UiO-66-NH2 desorbed only 22.5% of CO2. This strategy also works in the fixed bed, and may provide a new avenue for the development of advanced desorption systems.

An insulated column for lab-scale non-isothermal breakthrough: Impact of thermal effects during CO2 adsorption

Often lab-scale adsorptive breakthrough experiments are conducted in an isothermal manner, whereas industrial-scale adsorption processes are near-adiabatic. In this work, a polyurethane (PUR) insulating column was manufactured to mimic large-scale non-isothermal behavior via laboratory-scale breakthrough tests. Breakthrough tests with a CO2/N2 gas mixture on zeolite 13X (∼5 g) were performed. A bed temperature increase of 62 °C and long cooling times were observed. When compared to a regular steel column, showing a temperature rise of only 12 °C, the column efficiency was approximately 20% lower due to adiabatic effects. The heat evacuated from the adsorbent bed via the column exhaust was used as a measure for the degree of adiabaticity. Up to 46% of the theoretical heat of adsorption could be detected at the PUR column exhaust compared to 4% at the steel column exhaust. The important difference between isothermal, non-isothermal and adiabatic limit behavior was demonstrated through breakthrough experiments and simulations.

Spinning Submerged Filter Adsorber versus Packed Bed Adsorber for the Continuous Removal of Antibiotics from Wastewater with Activated Carbon

The removal of antibiotics from wastewater is receiving considerable attention to fulfill water quality parameters required for reuse. This study compares a spinning submerged filter adsorber with a fixed bed adsorber for continuous antibiotic removal. Adsorbers were evaluated with micro granular activated carbon (μGAC: 508 μm), coarse powder activated carbon (cPAC: 197 μm), powder activated carbon (PAC: 77 μm), and a domestic wastewater effluent spiked with a mixture of amoxicillin, sulfamethoxazole, and levofloxacin with concentrations ranging from 10 to 50 mg/L. The fixed bed adsorber packed with cPAC was the most efficient adsorber running with wastewater spiked with 50 mg/L of each antibiotic and an empty bed contact time (EBCT) of 4.5 min. The spinning submerged filter adsorber configuration also provided high removal effectiveness using a 15 g/L concentration of PAC but with a lower hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 40 min. This adsorption unit can be filled with small PAC particles, unlike packed beds, and PAC concentrations can be increased up to 150 g/L if necessary. It combines adsorption and filtration with a completely mixed mode of operation in which the PAC concentration can be adapted to effluent micropollutant concentrations, making it an interesting alternative for adsorption processes.

Multi-objective optimisation of MOF-801 adsorbent packed into copper foamed bed for cooling and water desalination systems

Recently, there have been several endeavours to enhance the performance of the adsorption systems for cooling cum desalination by developing new materials and adsorbent bed designs. Therefore, this article contributes to the field by computationally studying the utilisation of state-of-the-art MOF-801 adsorbent packed into the emerging copper-foamed adsorbent bed heat exchanger and benchmarking its performance against that utilising silica gel baseline adsorbent. A multi-objective global optimisation aimed simultaneously at the best coefficient of performance, specific cooling power, and clean water productivity was undertaken. The optimisation was built on the insights from a broad parametric study for the geometric and operating conditions. Given the novelty of the adsorbent MOF-801 and bed design combination, a one-dimensional model was developed to imitate the heat transfer in the adsorbent bed and coupled with a previously validated empirical lumped analytical model for the adsorption system using the MATLAB platform. Using copper foam significantly enhanced the effective thermal performance of the adsorbent bed, improving the overall system performance under different operating conditions. Furthermore, the clean water productivity of the MOF-801-based system outperformed that of the SG-based system by 38%, as the former yielded 29.7 m3/(ton.day), while the latter 21.5 m3/(ton.day). Besides, the MOF-801-based system showed specific cooling power of 830.8 W/kg compared to 611.5 W/kg for the silica gel-based system. However, the cooling capacity per unit volume determined the systems’ form factor, and the coefficient of performance was respectively higher by 9.6% and 20.2% for the silica gel-based system than those of the MOF-801-based system, stemming from the low packing density of MOF-801.

A solar-driven adsorbent based on Al-fumarate metal-organic framework coating with high water cycle efficiency

Adsorption bed using pelleted metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) shows high water adsorption capacity, but have low adsorption/desorption rate, which limits the water cycling efficiency. And coating MOFs on the thermal-conductive surface can enhance the water adsorption/desorption rate by promoting heat transfer, furthermore, they can be efficiently driven by green solar light. Based on it, in this work, a novel mixed-solvothermal in-situ synthesis technology of Al-fumarate MOF coating on aluminum foil was developed. The results showed that by respectively adjusting the DMF/H2O ratios, fumaric acid molar contents, and the crystallization temperatures from 5/30–30/5, 2–10 mmol, and 90–120 °C, Al-fumarate MOF with uniform dispersion and controllable thickness (50–620 μm) on aluminum foil could be synthesized directly. The water release properties of different coatings under 1 and 1.2 sunlight (1 kW/m2 and 1.2 kW/m2) were tested. The results showed that the coating with different thicknesses can achieve complete desorption within 8–20 min at a sunlight intensity of 1.2 kW/m2, and the water yield through one cycle can reach 157 g/m2. The coating which displayed a thin strip cauliflower crystal morphology possessed a high adsorption capacity, fast adsorption/desorption rate, low desorption temperature as well as excellent cycle stability.

Investigation of stepwise porosity and perforated fins in finned tube adsorption bed for adsorption refrigeration

Adsorption refrigeration is a green refrigeration technology. The characteristics of its key component, the adsorption bed, directly affect the operational performance of the entire system. In this study, two novel types of structures, stepwise porosity and perforated fins, were applied to three types of conventional finned tube adsorption beds to improve heat and mass transfer. Using the finite element analysis method, the impacts of porosities and perforations were systematically evaluated to clarify the application range and development potential of this new technology. The results indicate that the overall performance of the system using a finned tube adsorption bed with an annular outer fin is better than that of a plate outer fin and annular inner fin. Stepwise porosity can help maintain the system coefficient of performance (COP) and reduce the degradation of the specific cooling power (SCP) when the finned tube adsorption bed is designed with a long fin or large fin spacing. The perforated fin structure improved the refrigeration performance of the finned tube adsorption bed. Stepwise perforation affects the values of the COP to some extent, but the variations in the value of the SCP are minor. Stepwise perforation combined with stepwise porosity might be a potential structure for further improving heat and mass transfer in the adsorption bed.

Fixed-bed adsorption of lead from battery recycling unit wastewater-optimization using Box-Behnken method

Lead-acid battery recycling not only minimizes the environmental pollution but also partially meet the high demand of lead to manufacture the lead-acid battery. Unfortunately, huge amount of wastewater is generated during recycling which carry toxic lead above the permissible limit of 0.1 mg/L. It, requires treatment before its discharge. In this study, this wastewater was treated by fixed-bed column adsorption using steam activated granular activated carbon. Adsorbent was characterized using Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR), and X-ray Diffraction (XRD) analysis to determine the applicability in adsorption. Total 13 combinations of factor levels were analyzed to optimize the performance of the bed according to Box-Behnken experimental design to determine the effect of flow rate (4, 8, and 12 mL/min), adsorbent bed diameter (1.5, 3, and 4.5 cm), and adsorbent bed depth (10, 20, and 30 cm) on breakthrough time. The best local maximum was found at flow rate 4 mL/min, adsorbent bed depth 10 cm, adsorbent bed diameter 1.5 cm, uptake capacity 0.123 mg/g, breakthrough time 87 min and desirability of 0.881. To treat the 500 L of wastewater per week, it was estimated that an adsorbent bed of diameter 17 cm and depth 113 cm will be required with the wastewater feed rate of 514 mL/min for 16.22 h. The results of this study could be utilized by the recyclers to install a modular treatment plant for the wastewater from the lead-acid battery recycling unit.

Impacts of the internal heat recovery scheme on the performance of an adsorption heat transformer cycle for temperature upgrade

Adsorption heat transformer (AHT) cycles, unlike adsorption cooling cycles, upgrade the heat source to a higher temperature. Despite the renewed interest in the AHT cycles, its performance enhancement schemes along with their impacts are yet to be explored extensively. Heat and mass recovery schemes on the adsorption cooling/heating cycles have been extensively studied. However, AHT cycles are fundamentally different from those cycles since the AHT cycles employ isothermal-adiabtic processes. Thus, similar impacts of the heat and mass recovery scheme as in the cooling/heating cycles cannot be expected in AHT cycles. Therefore, the impacts and limitations of the internal heat recovery scheme on the AHT cycle are investigated in the current study. The heat recovery scheme aims to minimize the requisite uptake consumption for preheating the adsorber bed by recovering the sensible heat between two adsorber beds having different temperatures. This sensible heat exchange is modeled using modified energy-balance equations to capture the non-linearity of the adsorption process. The preheating uptake loss decreases from 0.014 kg/kg to 0.007 kg/kg at the heat source-heat supply temperature combination of 60 °C–80 °C due to the maximum possible heat recovery in the AHT cycle. As a result of the reduced preheating uptake loss, approximately 5% and 10% increase in the useful heat ratio and exergy efficiency of the AHT cycle, respectively are obtained. This modified AHT cycle further improves the performance ratio of the hybrid AHT-MED (multi-effect distillation) system from 4.6 to 4.9 at the heat source temperature of 58 °C. Furthermore, a parametric analysis of the cycle's performance metrics has been conducted for various degrees of heat recovery, representing the effect of realistic heat exchanger effectiveness during the recovery process. This study will help propel the theoretical development of the adsorption-based thermodynamic systems.

Bio-adsorbent hydroxyapatite for drinking water defluoridation: column performance modelling studies.

Waste marble powder (WMP) is a rich source of calcium and magnesium salts having an affinity for fluoride ions and therefore serves as a good defluoridation agent. Hydroxyapatite was synthesized from WMP generated by the marble processing industry to make an adsorbent for drinking water defluoridation. The synthesized marble hydroxyapatite (MA-Hap LR) powder was further formed into 2-3mm pellets by extrusion spheronization technique using a polyvinyl alcohol binder. Continuous column defluoridation studies were conducted to obtain optimized column parameters such as input fluoride concentration, column inflow rates, optimum pellet size, and adsorbent bed parameters to obtain maximum fluoride adsorption capacity. The best breakthrough column performance was a maximum adsorption capacity of 1.21mg/g, treating 10mg/L fluoride concentration. The optimized column flow rate was at 1 LPH using an adsorbent bed height of 25cm, which processed 28.5-bed volumes at an adsorbent exhaustion rate of 7.4g/L. The column breakthrough performance data were fit into various kinetic models (Thomas model and Yoon-Nelson model) to describe adsorption kinetics and obtain correlation coefficients. Thomas's model fitted well with a high correlation coefficient value. Modelling studies indicate MA-Hap as a promising adsorbent for drinking water treatment, and optimum column design parameters were identified for scale-up for real applications.

Green route for biomethane and hydrogen production via integration of biogas upgrading using pressure swing adsorption and steam-methane reforming process

Biogas is a cornerstone within a clean and sustainable energy portfolio, while hydrogen production from biogas is a key enabler for methane conversion and carbon dioxide valorization for greenhouse gases emissions mitigation. In this work, pressure swing adsorption (PSA) configuration of two vessels-four adsorption beds connected in series was tested for upgrading low-grade biogas (50% CH4 and 50% CO2). To resolve CH4 spillage issue, steam-methane reforming (SMR) plant was proposed as a green route for converting CH4 and portion of CO2 in the waste stream of PSA system into hydrogen. The integrated system (PSA-SMR) was performed on two stages i.e., PSA runs were conducted experimentally in lab while SMR system was simulated using Aspen Hysys software under operating conditions from a real plant. Response surface methodology was applied into Design Expert software to optimize the effects of system pressure, CH4 concentration, and biogas/steam flowrate ratio on H2, CO2, H2O, and CO molar fractions in the product. The results revealed that four adsorption beds in serial configuration successfully recorded ultrapure CH4 of 99.9% and recovery of 84.9% along with average CO2 content of 60% in the waste stream. For SMR system, produced syngas comprised of 42.2% H2, 28.46% CO2, 13.84% N2, 8.88% H2O, and 6.66% CO with 100% conversion of the CH4 and about 52.56% conversion of the CO2. The optimum conditions that achieved the highest H2 content of 51% from SMR were system pressure below 32 bar, methane content in feed stream ≥61%, and biogas/steam ratio in the range of 0.41–0.66 to record H2.

Performance of an Adsorption Chiller Using Diesel Truck Exhaust: Effect of Operating Parameters

ABSTRACT In India, air conditioning is essential in the truck driver’s cabin during the summer. An air conditioning system powered by the vehicle’s engine adds to the engine’s workload, resulting in higher fuel demand and more emissions. An adsorption chiller that runs on engine exhaust is designed here to lower the interior temperature of a truck cabin to address the above-mentioned issue. Here, an adsorption air conditioner system’s effectiveness is forecast using a lumped analytical technique. During the adsorption process, heat from the adsorber bed is absorbed by cold water and released into the radiator. The desorber bed has been heated using hot water as a heat transfer medium from the engine exhaust heat. The analysis was carried out using the adsorption kinetic equation at adsorption equilibrium. The influence of inlet water flow rate, temperature and switching time (adsorber process to desorber process and vice versa) on adsorption chiller performance has been studied here. According to simulation results, the proposed adsorption chiller can be used to keep the driver cabin cool during summer for operational conditions adopted during the simulation. The adsorption air conditioner’s highest coefficient of performance (COP), as determined by this investigation, was found to be 0.214.

Development and validation of convective‐diffusion models to analyse the transient behaviour of a packed bed: Factors influencing aqueous phase adsorption of a bisbiguanide

Chlorhexidine gluconate [CHG] in combination with cetrimide [CET], widely used in various pharmaceutical compositions, is potentially hazardous to aquatic ecosystems. Continuous removal of these compounds using commercial [GAC] and functionalized activated carbons [FACs] in a packed bed column, is reported. Transient forms of convective diffusion models are developed with depletion terms being represented by the first and second-order kinetics. Performance of the packed bed is analysed with varying bed height, flow rate, initial concentrations, and estimated Damköhler numbers. On the basis of minimum value of sum of the squares of residuals [SSQ], it is evident that the second-order model fits better for the removal of CHG and CET by FACHF and FACNH3, while the first-order model fits better for GAC. Damköhler number increases with a decrease in flow rate for both the compounds. Ratio of Damköhler numbers does not change with flow rate. Irrespective of flow rates, for GAC: Da2(CHG):Da2(CET) ≈ 0.0526; for FACHF: Da2(CHG):Da2(CET)=0.30; for FACNH3: Da2(CHG):Da2(CET) = 0.0076. Changes in the breakthrough volume (nBT,max), causing the analytes to migrate from the front of the adsorbent bed into the back, are in the order: for CHG: nBT,max(FACHF) >nBT,max (FACNH3) >nBT,max (GAC); for CET: nBT,max (FAC- NH3) >nBT,max (FACHF) >nBT,max (GAC).

Simulation of CO2 capture from natural gas by cyclic pressure swing adsorption process using activated carbon

This work presented modeling and simulation of CO2 from natural gas. One of the most promising technologies is Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA), which is an energy-efficient and cost-effective process for separating and capturing CO2 from industrial processes and power plants. This paper provides an overview of the PSA process and its application for CO2 capture, along with a discussion of its advantages, limitations, and future research directions. This process is pressure swing adsorption (PSA) with four adsorption beds. The adsorption bed columns fill with activated carbon as adsorbent. In this simulation momentum, mass and energy balance are solved simultaneously. The process was designed with two beds in adsorption conditions and the other two beds in desorption conditions. The desorption cycle includes blow-down and purge steps. The linear driving force (LDF) estimates the adsorption rate in modeling this process. The extended Langmuir isotherm is used for the equilibrium between solid and gas phases. The temperature changes by heat transfer from the gas phase to solid and axial heat dispersion. The set of partial differential equations is solved using implicit finite difference.

Experimental validation of bed depth service time model using vapor adsorption bed for coolant purification system of fusion research

A breeding blanket system breeds tritium for fuel, and the system heat is removed by a helium cooling system in the fusion reactor. A Coolant Purification System (CPS) is an ancillary system that removes tritium and impurities from the coolant so that the levels of tritium and impurity in a helium cooling system remain within design requirements. The CPS consists of an oxidation bed that oxidizes Q2 (H, D, T) to Q2O, respectively, an Ambient Molecular Sieve Bed (AMSB) that adsorbs oxidized Q2O, a reduction bed that reduces Q2O back to Q2, and a heated getter bed that removes other impurities. An AMSB filled with zeolite has excellent vapor adsorption at room temperature, and is used semi-permanently by repeating adsorption and regeneration through a pressure–temperature swing adsorption process. In this work, an experimental study on the vapor adsorption and desorption of AMSB was conducted with research apparatus for vapor adsorption and desorption. The purpose of this study was to identify the adsorption and desorption characteristics of an AMSB with various geometries and operation conditions of vapor concentration and flow rate, and to verify its performance. The experimental results were analyzed by applying the bed depth service time model. Through such analysis, real-scale operating conditions could be predicted from the scaled-down test results, and this could be used for code validation of CPS in the future.

Boosting solar-driven volatile organic compounds desorption via the synergy of NH2-UiO-66 with hollow polypyrrole nanotube

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are witnessing rapid development in the adsorption removal of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from polluted air due to their remarkable adsorption capacity. However, their intrinsic poor thermal conductivities often make their regeneration processes suffer from high energy consumption. Herein, a novel photodynamic NH2-UiO-66@PPy adsorbent was constructed by in-situ growth of NH2-UiO-66 particles onto hollow PPy nanotubes via a facile solvothermal method. This adsorbent was able to extend the light response range of NH2-UiO-66 from UV–vis to near-infrared region. Benefitting from the superior photothermal conversion ability of PPy and well contact interface between PPy nanotube and its surface-loaded NH2-UiO-66 particles, higher surface temperature of PPy nanotubes would be obtained upon exposure to UV–vis-NIR light and further transferred to its surrounding MOF nanoparticles. Eventually, the surface temperature of the optimal NH2-UiO-66@PPy-2 adsorbent can be as high as 245 °C, and almost 100% of the adsorbed ethyl acetate was able to be released within 30 min of UV–vis-NIR irradiation. Distinct from the conventional heating whole adsorbent bed, this photothermal desorption strategy would significantly reduce the heat-transfer among adsorbent particles and become less dependent on the heat-transfer rate, thus efficiently alleviating the intrinsic thermal conductivity shortcoming of MOF.

Determination of Hydrophobic Dispersive Surface Free Energy of Activated Carbon Fibers Measured by Inverse Gas Chromatographic Technique

Activated carbon fibers (ACFs) as one of the most important porous carbon materials are widely used in many applications that involve rapid adsorption and low-pressure loss, including air purification, water treatment, and electrochemical applications. For designing such fibers for the adsorption bed in gas and aqueous phases, in-depth comprehension of the surface components is crucial. However, achieving reliable values remains a major challenge due to the high adsorption affinity of ACFs. To overcome this problem, we propose a novel approach to determine London dispersive components (γSL) of the surface free energy of ACFs by inverse gas chromatography (IGC) technique at an infinite dilution. Our data reveal the γSL values at 298 K for bare carbon fibers (CFs) and the ACFs to be 97 and 260-285 mJ·m-2, respectively, which lie in the regime of secondary bonding of physical adsorption. Our analysis indicates that these are impacted by micropores and defects on the carbon surfaces. Comparing the γSL obtained by the traditional Gray's method, our method is concluded as the most accurate and reliable value for the hydrophobic dispersive surface component of porous carbonaceous materials. As such, it could serve as a valuable tool in designing interface engineering in adsorption-related applications.