No abstract

To enable the technical use of natural gas, efficient gas processing is essential. Various components such as water, sulphur compounds, carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and heavy hydrocarbons must be removed. Temperature swing adsorption (TSA) is a commonly used way of removing some of these components. This paper describes where TSA is used in the natural gas treatment process and outlines the application of commercial adsorbents in TSA plants. The state of research on adsorbents and process control in TSA plants in natural gas processing is discussed.

To ensure the technical use of natural gas it is necessary to remove heavy (cyclic) hydrocarbons from the crude gas. In this article the adsorption of two cyclic hydrocarbons in a N 2 -carrier gas is investigated on two commercial silica alumina gels. Adsorption isotherms are determined from cumulative breakthrough experiments in a fixed-bed adsorber. The isosteric heat of adsorption is calculated from the temperature-dependent isotherms. The experimental data is discussed regarding the molecular structure of the adsorptive agents as well as surface chemistry and pore structure of the adsorbents.

To ensure the technical use of natural gas, heavy hydrocarbons and other components must be separated. Therefore, in this work the adsorption of C 6 −C 8 hydrocarbons n-hexane, n-heptane, n-octane, benzene, toluene, and cyclohexane on a commercial silica−alumina gel (Sorbead H) was investigated in experiments and dynamic simulations. Single and binary mixture equilibrium isotherms were determined from cumulative breakthrough curve experiments on a fixed bed adsorber at 25−75 °C and 1.3 bar (abs) in the trace range up to approximately 5000 ppm mol . The adsorption behavior is interpreted on the basis of the molecular structure of the adsorptive, the surface chemistry, and the pore structure of the adsorbents. Binary mixture isotherms were calculated using the theory of the ideal adsorbed solution (IAST). The results were in good agreement with experimental data. The adsorption dynamics was investigated by breakthrough curve experiments and simulated dynamically using an isothermal model based on mass balances and a linear driving force (LDF) model for adsorption kinetics.

Auf der ACHEMA 2018 stellten sich 24 Firmen mit Bezug zum Themenfeld Adsorption vor. Das weit gefächerte Ausstellerfeld reichte von Adsorbentienherstellern über Messgeräteentwickler bis hin zu Anlagenbauern. Aufgrund der zeitlichen Nähe zur Fachmesse IFAT/Entsorga waren in diesem Jahr etwas weniger Aussteller vertreten als in den vorausgehenden Jahren. Der Bericht umreißt die wichtigsten Trends und Neuerungen aus der Adsorptionstechnik, die auf den Ständen präsentiert und in Gesprächen von den Ausstellern thematisiert wurden.