Adsorption of chlorinated volatile organic compounds on hydrophobic faujasite: correlation between the thermodynamic and kinetic properties and the prediction of air cleaning

This work deals with a thermodynamic and kinetic study of the adsorption of single volatile organic compounds (VOCs) (dichloromethane (DCM), 1,2-dichloroethane (DCA), trichloroethene (TCE) and tetrachloroethene (PCE)) on a dealuminated faujasite Y by simultaneous measurements of the adsorbed amounts, adsorption heats and diffusivities. The type V isotherms and the weak values of derivative enthalpies allowed us to predict that the competitive adsorption of their mixture would be similar to a distillation. This prediction was verified experimentally: the breakthrough curves of VOC mixtures showed that the adsorbate with the higher boiling point displaced the adsorbate with the lower boiling …