Characterization of Carbon Molecular Sieve 3A

In this investigation, comprehensive characterization of a carbon molecular sieve (CMS) pellet is undertaken using mercury intrusion, gas permeation, adsorption kinetics, and equilibria measurements. Gas permeation and mercury intrusion are employed to characterize the macropore structure of the CMS while adsorption equilibria and kinetics are exploited for characterization of micropores. It is observed that the relationship between adsorbed phase mobility and gas-phase concentration obtained by measurement of the kinetics of adsorption follows the Darken relation. The trend in magnitude of the mobility parameter follows that of other CMS samples (O2 > CO2 > N2 > Ar), and some deviation from Fickian behavior is observed in the uptake of larger molecules, presumably because of interference from a “pore mouth barrier”.