LAUSR

Adsorbent filters often use activated carbons to remove a wide range of toxic chemicals from air. It is of interest to know if filter performance for these compounds can be diffusion limited as a result of molecular structure effects from bulky functional groups. A concentration-swing frequency response (CSFR) technique was used to measure mass transfer rates of various C10 hydrocarbons to explore molecular structure effects on diffusion in amorphous BPL activated carbon. The hydrocarbon adsorbates of interest were n-decane, α-pinene, limonene, and decalin. The fluorocarbon perfluorodecalin was also investigated. These C10 hydrocarbons have different ring or branched shapes, but their volatilities are similar. By plotting amplitude ratios as a function of frequency and fitting to a mathematical model derived from transfer functions, CSFR can easily distinguish among different mass transfer rate mechanisms and permits the accurate calculation of diffusion coefficients. The CSFR experiment was performed at ...