A Critical Short Review of Equilibrium and Kinetic Adsorption Models for VOCs Breakthrough Curves Modelling

Abstract

Volatile organic compounds emission has important effects over the environment and human beings health. When these substances cannot be substituted, adsorption systems are still a very common solution to VOCs emission, but for their design, previous laboratory work is necessary: adsorption isotherms and breakthrough curves must be obtained. The first ones establish the maximal amount of adsorbate retained over the solid adsorbent for a certain pressure of the adsorbate, and the second ones define the adsorption process kinetics. Once this information is studied, a theoretical breakthrough time model can be built up, and then the scale up of the adsorption system can be developed. This process is rather complex for multicomponent gas mixtures, where a competition between adsorbates happens. Thus, the aim of this paper is to establish a guide for authors willing to develop breakthrough time prediction models for multicomponent systems through a critical review of different adsorption and kinetic models.