Adsorption characteristics of ethanol onto functional activated carbons with controlled oxygen content

The present study aims to investigate adsorption characteristics of ethanol onto activated carbon powders namely; parent Maxsorb III and surface treated Maxsorb III with controlled oxygen content. Experiments have been conducted gravimetrically using a magnetic suspension adsorption measurement unit. The measurements have been conducted within evaporator temperatures range from −14 to 77 °C and adsorption temperatures between 20 and 80 °C. The Dubinin–Astakhov (D–A) adsorption model is found to be suitable to correlate the adsorption isotherm data. The isosteric heat of adsorption of the assorted adsorbent/refrigerant pairs has been estimated using Clausius–Clapeyron and the D–A equations. Effect of the refrigerant purity on the adsorption characteristics of the adsorbent/refrigerant pair is also discussed. The data extracted from this study are useful for the design of adsorption cooling, refrigeration and heat pump systems.