Heat generation in natural gas adsorption systems

Experiments were conducted using a high-surface-area carbon as an adsorbent for methane to determine the impact of the heat of adsorption upon the storage capacity. The rapid filling of an adsorption storage system under conditions in which the heat of adsorption is not dissipated results in only about 75% of the methane being stored at 3.44 MPa (500 psia) as can be stored by a slow fill rate with heat dissipation. These results depend upon the initial temperature of the absorbent bed and upon the characteristics of the substrate itself. 4 refs., 5 figs.