Paper detail

Simple isotherm equations to fit type I adsorption data

A simple model to fit experimental data of adsorption of gases and vapours on microporous adsorbents (type I isotherms) is proposed. The main assumption is that the adsorbate phase can be divided into identical and non-interacting effective subsystems. This gives rise to a simple multiparametric isotherm based on the grand canonical ensemble statistics, whose functional form is a ratio of two polynomial functions. The parameters are interpreted as effective equilibrium constants. A simplified isotherm that reduces the number of adjustable parameters with respect to the general isotherm is also proposed. We show how to use these isotherms to fit the adsorption data in such way that the parameters have statistical significance. Due to their high accuracy, both isotherms can be used to estimate thermodynamic properties like isosteric and differential heats of adsorption. A simple method is presented for systems that show an apparent variation in the coverage limit with temperature. This method avoids overparametrization and improves fitting deviations. Finally, several applications to fitting data, taken from literature, of adsorption of some gases on activated carbon, molecular sieving carbon, silica gel, and pillared clays are presented.