Simulated binary isothermal adsorption on activated carbon in periodic countercurrent column operation

Simulation studies are presented of single‐ and two‐component adsorption in periodic, countercurrent, multicolumn systems. It is demonstrated that long adsorption profiles are likely to occur in the adsorption of organic contaminants from wastewater onto activated carbon, thus favoring the use of multicolumn rather than single‐column systems. For two‐component adsorption in a multicolumn system, it is shown that more switching periods are needed than in the single‐column case before the profiles stabilize, that the stabilized profiles can differ substantially from those found in a single‐column system, and that their shape is strongly influenced by the relative concentrations of the components in the feed.