A theoretical and experimental study of charge and discharge cycles in a storage vessel for adsorbed natural gas

This study presents experimental data of storage and delivery tests of methane on activated carbon carried out in a prototype vessel at pressures up to 40 atm. Adsorption equilibrium data at high pressure were measured using a gravimetric apparatus. Experimental data obtained from the storage/delivery tests are compared to those obtained from process simulation using a dynamic model. The simulation model was run using the measured equilibrium data as input parameters. A good agreement was observed between experimental and simulated results. Histories of pressure and stored mass were satisfactorily well predicted. Despite heat effects, not precisely taken into account in the model, there was a reasonably good agreement between simulation and experiment for the average temperature inside the vessel.