Scaling of heat and mass transfer processes in adsorption column

Adsorption process is the fundamental principle for several advanced technologies like purification and separation technology, refrigeration and heat pumps, thermal and gas storage, desalination, and atmospheric water harvesting. In all these applications the adsorbent material cyclically adsorbs and desorbs the adsorbate for continuous operation. This rate of adsorption depends on several factors such as the properties of the adsorbent, the operating conditions, and the geometry of the adsorption bed. Most adsorption beds use a columnar packing design. Heat and mass transfer occurring within this packed adsorbent column plays a very crucial role in determining the overall throughput and efficiency of the adsorption process. By means of an order of magnitude analysis, also known as scaling analysis, one can simplify and theoretically investigate this complex heat and mass transfer. The scaling study reveals several interesting physical parameters affecting the overall adsorption phenomenon which can help identify the bottlenecks and thereby improve the adsorption bed design and operation. This chapter will provide a detailed insight into this novel approach. Large temperature jump and large pressure jump imitated adsorption phenomena have been discussed in this chapter. The study has been carried out for silica gel/water vapor pair which is one of the most popular adsorption pairs in the literature; however, the scaling principles introduced in this chapter can be readily extended to other adsorption pairs.