Azhar Bin Ismail

On the thermodynamics of refrigerant + heterogeneous solid surfaces adsorption.

This Article presents a theoretical framework for the understanding of pressurized adsorption systems using the statistical rate methodology. Utilizing results from the statistical rate theory, basic thermodynamic variables including enthalpy (h(a)), entropy (s(a)), and the specific heat capacity (c(p,a)) of the adsorbed phase are derived using the thermodynamic requirements of chemical equilibrium, Gibbs law, as well as Maxwell relations. A built-in constant (K) describes the adsorbed molecular partition function (q(s)), and it captures the heterogeneous properties of the adsorbent + adsorbate pair at equilibrium states. Improved adsorbed-phase volume considerations were incorporated in the formulations of these variables where they could be utilized with relative ease for analyzing the energetic performances of any practical adsorption system. In this Article, we have demonstrated how derived thermodynamic quantities can bridge the information gap with respect to the states of adsorbed phase, as well as resolved some theoretical inconsistencies that were found in previously derived quantities. Experimentally, the adsorption isotherms of propane (refrigerant) on activated carbon powder (Maxsorb III) for temperatures from 5 to 75 °C and pressures up to 8 bar are presented, and they are used to illustrate the behaviors of the adsorbed-phase during uptakes, temperatures, and pressure excursions or changes.

Thermophysical Properties of Novel Zeolite Materials for Sorption Cycles

This article discusses the thermophysical properties of zeolite-based adsorbents. Three types of zeolite (Z-01, Z-02 and Z-05) with different chemical compositions developed by Mitsubishi Plastics, Inc. are analyzed for possible applications in adsorption chillers and desalination cycles driven by low-temperature waste heat sources. The experiments are performed using static volumetric method with N2 gas sorption at 77 K. Thermophysical properties such as pore surface area, micropore volume and pore size distribution are evaluated using standard multi-point Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) and Non-Local Density Functional Theory (NLDFT) methods. It is observed that Aluminosilicate functionalized Z-02 exhibits the highest surface area with huge micropore volume.

A Study on the Kinetics of Propane-Activated Carbon: Theory and Experiments

Experimental kinetics results of propane in Maxsorb III activated carbon is obtained at temperatures of 10°C and 30°C, and pressures up to 800kPa using a magnetic suspension balance. A multi-gradient linear driving force (LDF) approximation is used for adsorbate uptake as a function of time. The LDF mass-transfer-rate coefficients were thus determined. Using this approach, the experimentally derived LDF coefficients based on independently measured kinetic parameters for propane in the activated-carbon bed agree very well with experimental results. The computational efficiency is gained by adopting this extended LDF model.

Adsorption Cycle and Its Hybrid with Multi-Effect Desalination

Adsorption (AD) cycle is recently pioneered for cooling and desalination applications. For water treatment, the cycle can be used to treat highly concentrated feed water, ranging from seawater, ground water, and chemically laden waste water. This chapter presents a review of the recent development of AD cycle and its hybridization with known conventional cycles such as the MED and MSF. We begin by looking at the basic sorption theory for different adsorbent–adsorbate pairs, namely the silica gel– water and the zeolite–water pairs. Under the IUPAC categorization, there are six types of isotherm behavior that capture almost all types of adsorbent–adsorbate behaviors and many isotherm correlations have been developed to described their uptake patterns, namely the Henry, Langmuir, Toth, etc. We have recently developed a correlation that can universally capture all six types of isotherms of IUPAC and it requires only four regression coefficients. We present also the basic AD cycle for seawater desalination as well as its hybridiza‐ tion with known conventional thermally driven cycles. We present the performances of the AD pilot which was powered by renewable solar thermal input. Owing to thermodynamic synergy between the thermally driven cycles, the AD cycle is combined with the robust multi-effect distillation cycle to improve the water production yields. The hybrid cycle is called the “MED+AD” or MEDAD in short. With hybridization, it allows the bottom-brine temperature of the MED to operate below ambient temperature, as low as 5°C, in contrast to the conventional MED which is limited by the ambient, resulting in a quantum increase of distillate production by two to three times. We demonstrate this efficiency improvement in a pilot comprising

High-Pressure Adsorption Isotherms of Carbon Dioxide and Methane on Activated Carbon From Low-Grade Coal of Indonesia

ABSTRACT Adsorption isotherms data of methane and carbon dioxide gases on the activated carbons were measured experimentally using a volumetric method with pressure and temperatures ranging from 0 to 3.5 MPa and 27 to 65°C, respectively. Two types of activated carbons, namely, (1) Kalimantan Timur type activated carbon, which is lab-produced from Indonesian low-grade coal and (2) a commercial (Carbotech) activated carbon were used. The adsorption isotherms obtained were found to belong to type 1 of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry classification. The adsorption uptakes for both carbon dioxide and methane on commercial activated carbon are higher than for the Kalimantan Timur activated carbon. This is due to higher Brunauer–Emmet–Teller surface area and pore volume of the former. Langmuir and Tóth isotherm models are correlated to predict the experimental data with acceptable accuracy.

Low Temperature Waste Heat Driven Refrigeration Cycle

This work explores the utilization of alternative refrigerants to the conventional silica gel + water adsorption pair for the adsorption chiller cycle. Water as the working fluid in the cycle limits the cooling temperatures to above 0°C due to its triple point. The activated carbon Maxsorb III is thus considered as the adsorbent due to its high micro-porous characteristics which lead to higher uptake values. The isotherms of this adsorbent with natural refrigerant Propane, n-butane as well as refrigerants HFC-134a, R507a and R-32 are fitted to the Dubinin-Astakhov equation and the parameters tabulated. With these isotherms, the performances of these pairs with respect to their Specific Cooling Effects (SCE) are compared for assorted cooling temperature, ambient temperature and waste temperature requirements. It was found that the natural refrigerant propane exhibits the most favorable operational conditions when the required cooling temperature is below 0°C. A mathematical model is thus developed to predict the cycle of the propane cycle and is found to show a good fit to the experimental results.