Monitoring and control of electrothermal swing adsorption based on electrical properties of the adsorbent
type: CreativeWork
description: Organic vapors and gases (e.g., toluene and isobutane, respectively) are used in industry to produce a variety of products (e.g., coatings and packaging materials). During production and use of these products, these vapors/gases are often emitted in dilute concentrations, causing adverse health effects and photochemical reactions that increase ground-level ozone concentration. Thermal oxidization is often used for vapor/gas disposal (ideal conversion to H2O and CO2). Capturing and recovering vapors/gases can reduce cost by providing feedstock for production and eliminate emissions from thermal oxidation. A bench-scale electrothermal swing adsorption (ESA) system that uses activated carbon fiber cloth (ACFC) to selectively remove vapors/gases from gas streams and electrothermal heating to regenerate the ACFC was previously developed. This system concentrates a vapor/gas to > 50 % by volume allowing for condensation for reuse as a liquid. Typically, the end of an ACFC-ESA adsorption cycle and the heating part of a regeneration cycle are determined based on measurements from hydrocarbon sensors, which have capital costs and require periodic maintenance. Also, regeneration heating and cooling requires direct-contact thermocouple measurements to determine when to apply power and when cooling is complete to initiate an adsorption cycle, respectively. However, these thermocouples can lose contact with the ACFC or create an electrical short circuit during regeneration that damages the system and/or adsorbent. For this research, a method was developed to monitor and control ACFC-ESA that eliminates the need for hydrocarbon and direct-contact temperature sensors. This method provides the ability to monitor the electrical properties of the ACFC and control adsorption cycles, regeneration cycles, and cyclic ESA based on these properties. This research is divided into five sections: 1) Characterize changes in ACFC electrical resistivity during adsorption for ACFC samples with se…
abstract: Organic vapors and gases (e.g., toluene and isobutane, respectively) are used in industry to produce a variety of products (e.g., coatings and packaging materials). During production and use of these products, these vapors/gases are often emitted in dilute concentrations, causing adverse health effects and photochemical reactions that increase ground-level ozone concentration. Thermal oxidization is often used for vapor/gas disposal (ideal conversion to H2O and CO2). Capturing and recovering vapors/gases can reduce cost by providing feedstock for production and eliminate emissions from thermal oxidation. A bench-scale electrothermal swing adsorption (ESA) system that uses activated carbon fiber cloth (ACFC) to selectively remove vapors/gases from gas streams and electrothermal heating to regenerate the ACFC was previously developed. This system concentrates a vapor/gas to > 50 % by volume allowing for condensation for reuse as a liquid. Typically, the end of an ACFC-ESA adsorption cycle and the heating part of a regeneration cycle are determined based on measurements from hydrocarbon sensors, which have capital costs and require periodic maintenance. Also, regeneration heating and cooling requires direct-contact thermocouple measurements to determine when to apply power and when cooling is complete to initiate an adsorption cycle, respectively. However, these thermocouples can lose contact with the ACFC or create an electrical short circuit during regeneration that damages the system and/or adsorbent. For this research, a method was developed to monitor and control ACFC-ESA that eliminates the need for hydrocarbon and direct-contact temperature sensors. This method provides the ability to monitor the electrical properties of the ACFC and control adsorption cycles, regeneration cycles, and cyclic ESA based on these properties. This research is divided into five sections: 1) Characterize changes in ACFC electrical resistivity during adsorption for ACFC samples with se…
author: Johnsen, David
language: en
keywords: Carbon, Activated Carbon Fiber Cloth (ACFC), Adsorption, Electrothermal Swing Adsorption, Resistivity, Electrical Resistivity
date published: 2015-01-21T19:48:02Z
date modified: 2026-07-22T22:26:07Z
provider: University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

PropertyValue
property ID: Handle
value: http://hdl.handle.net/2142/72775