Temperature Measurements to Characterize Dispersion Within Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA) Beds

PSA experiments using a two-bed laboratory-scale 100 standard liters per minute SLPM system equipped with in-bed temperature and vapor-phase concentration probes, were performed using trichlorofluoromethane R-11 as the feed contaminant and air as the carrier. In-bed, vapor-phase concentrations at each axial position were measured and correlated to the magnitude of the temperature swings during a cycle. The PSA experiments were then conducted using a full-scale 5,660 SLPM system with difluorochloromethane R-22 and 13X molecular sieve. Fourteen temperature probes were placed within a bed at different radial and axial positions. Using the temperature-concentration correlation, it was possible to construct a visual representation of the dispersion characteristics of the larger beds.