Measurement of gas mixture adsorption equilibria of natural gas compounds on microporous sorbents

Physisorption equilibria of multicomponent gases on microporous solids like zeolites or activated carbons are considered. In view of lack of reliable and simple methods to calculate mixture adsorption isotherms from pure component data, experiments are still indispensable. An overview of classical and new methods to measure multicomponent gas adsorption equilibria is given. Some of the basic concepts like the Gibbs excess mass and the absolute mass adsorbed underlying these methods are discussed. Experimental data and a class of new adsorption isotherms for inhomogeneous microporous adsorbents of fractal dimension will be given in another subsequent paper (ADSO 635-98) by the same group of authors.