Development of Computational Fluid Dynamics Multi-Component Adsorption Solver

For computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation of multi-component adsorption, the custom adsorption solver adsorpFoam developed at TU Wien was upgraded by implementing multicomponent equilibrium and kinetics. Equilibrium was modeled using the extended Langmuir Model (ELM), which solely depends on single-component isotherm data, which are easily available. For interspecies-dependent kinetics, a diffusion-based approach is chosen. The implementation includes the adaptation of the governing equations and adding adsorption sink and source terms. Adsorption mass source terms are calculated using adsorption equilibrium loading and rate of adsorption. The new implementation allows defining multiple adsorbing sites with different parameters per specie and site. Additionally, source terms for released heat of adsorption are added to the energy equation to account for the temperature changes. The competing adsorption of CH4, CO, CO2 and H2 in a packed bed was simulated and loading of different species on the adsorbent in the bed were investigated. This implementation is a first step towards multicomponent mass transfer and serves as a basis for further work on the three-dimensional simulation of multicomponent adsorption.

Keywords:

Computational Fluid Dynamics , Adsorption , Multi-component , OpenFOAM