Determination of Pore and Surface Diffusivities from Single Decay Curve in CSBR Based on Parallel Diffusion Model

Abstract

A novel, simple numerical method to determine the pore and surface diffusivities in adsorbents from a single experimental concentration decay curve obtained using the batch adsorption technique was investigated in this study. The pore and surface diffusion coefficients were determined based on the conventional parallel diffusion model in its dimensionless form using a theoretical model correlation. The model assumed that the film mass transfer resistance was negligible, i.e., the condition with a large Biot number, from the single concentration decay curve. The procedure for determining the kinetic parameters was investigated, and the effectiveness of the proposed simple method was validated by comparing the parameters with those reported previously. The single decay curve of p-nitrophenol, obtained by the batch adsorption system using granular activated carbon as an adsorbent, was used for validation. The diffusivities determined by the simple method corresponded fairly well with the diffusivities reported previously.