DIFFUSION OF OXYGEN, NITROGEN AND THEIR MIXTURES IN CARBON MOLECULAR-SIEVE

Diffusivities of oxygen, nitrogen and their mixtures in carbon molecular sieve are measured under conditions used for kinetic separation of air by adsorption (elevated pressures). In binary diffusion, codiffusion enhances fluxes for both components, whereas counterdiffusion has the opposite effects; for both cases, the effects are significantly more pronounced for the fast diffusing component. The multicomponent diffusion theory developed earlier in this laboratory for surface diffusion is reformulated for diffusion in molecular sieves. Multicomponent diffusivities can be predicted from the following pure-component information: concentration-dependent diffusivities and diffusional activation energies. Predicted binary diffusion results agree fairly with the experimental data for oxygen and nitrogen in carbon molecular sieve.