ENDOTHERMIC CHARACTER OF TOLUENE ADSORPTION FROM SUPERCRITICAL CARBON-DIOXIDE ON ACTIVATED CARBON AT LOW-COVERAGE

Heat effects and volumetric properties are analyzed for the adsorption of toluene from supercritical carbon dioxide onto activated carbon at the limit of zero coverage, based on existing data for the system. Using values of the adsorption equilibrium constant at different temperatures as a function of fluid density, large, negative partial molar volumes for toluene in the fluid were obtained, which were previously unavailable. Numerical integration of the differential equation that expresses the isobaric temperature dependence of the equilibrium constant, coupled with parameter optimization, enabled us to estimate the differential enthalpy of toluene adsorption onto the surface from the ideal gas at the same pressure and temperature, in addition to the enthalpy of transfer from the fluid to the surface. This is found to be large and positive near the critical conditions. Using the thermodynamic analysis of Kelley and Chimowitz, our results show that in terms of the enthalpy of transfer, the isothermal adsorption from a supercritical fluid is an endothermic process, thus explaining the retrograde behavior experimentally observed for the regeneration of carbon with supercritical CO2 at conditions not far from the solvent's critical point.