Adsorption of methane and hydrogen on packed beds of activated carbon

The adsorption of methane from mixtures of methane and hydrogen on fixed beds of activated carbon at −115°F. and 1 atm. has been studied. Inlet gas concentrations of 5.69, 7.58, and 10.65 mole % methane in hydrogen were employed over a gas flow rate range of from 3.24 to 16.3 std. cu. ft./hr. Activated carbon in sizes of 4 × 6 and 6 × 16 mesh and as 1/8‐ and 3/16‐in. pellets were employed as adsorbent. The external diffusion of adsorbate to the surface can be correlated by the usual mass transfer expressions for packed beds, although coefficients obtained in this work are lower than those reported for other systems in the literature. A new equation is presented for internal particle diffusion.