SENSITIVITY ANALYSIS OF PLUG FLOW PORE SURFACE DIFFUSION MODEL PART II: FOR MULTICOMPONENT

doi:2004.9.1.45

Environmental Engineering Research 2004;9(1): 45-50. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4491/eer.2004.9.1.045

Received: November 8, 2003; Accepted: February 1, 2004.

ABSTRACT

For a multicomponent solution, such as NOM, which contains components of various absorbabilities, the homogeneous surface diffusion model (HSDM) may be unable to accurately predict the adsorption process since it does not consider pore diffusion. Due to the competition between the weakly and strongly adsorbing components in the mass transfer zone, pore diffusion may be the dominant intraparticle mass transfer mechanism for the weakly adsorbing components in a fixed bed adsorbers. In this study, a sensitivity analysis was performed to determine which parameters have the greatest impact on the model results for a multicomponent mixture, like NOM. The Active component ratio was an important parameter in determining the breakthrough pattern. When the solution contained more strongly adsorbable component the fixed bed life was extended. Also, the initial concentration was important, yielding much shorter run times with increasing concentrations. The SPDFR and tortuosity also had a great impact on the breakthrough pattern for multicomponent solutions, while the molecular weight was found not to be important in the range found for natural waters. The backwashing impact on the breakthrough pattern of multicomponent solutions was not significant for the NOM conditions tested.

Keywords: GAC | Adsorption | multicomponent | NOM | IAST