Effect of process conditions on reaction-type adsorption of o-xylene by MCM-41 supported sulfuric acid: Model simulations of breakthrough curves

Reaction-type adsorption has been shown to be a promising technology for the removal and recovery of aromatic volatile organic compounds, and understanding adsorption behavior is of great technological importance for its novel application in environmental protection. In this work, a supported sulfuric acid adsorbent (SSA/MCM-41) with the loading of 9.25 mmol g−1, was prepared by a wet impregnation method. The breakthrough adsorption data of o-xylene onto the SSA/MCM-41 in a fixed bed was examined to investigate the effects of inlet o-xylene concentration, flow rate, and bed height. The breakthrough curves were simulated with the Thomas, Yoon–Nelson, and dose-response models, and both the theoretical breakthrough time and theoretical breakthrough adsorption capacity were calculated based on the obtained parameter values. The results showed that the dose-response model was the best-fitting model for the reaction-type adsorption of o-xylene by SSA/MCM-41. The maximal breakthrough adsorption capacity was determined to be 545.60 mg·g−1. The results suggested that the SSA/MCM-41 might have promising potential in applications using adsorbents for the removal of BTEX pollutants.