HEAT TRANSFER IN A PACKED BED OF ADSORBENTS BY PULSE RESPONSE.

Heat transfer in a packed bed of adsorbents is influenced by mass transfer due to adsorption/desorption. As the first step to clarify this phenomenon, axial heat transfer in a packed bed of silica-gel in dynamic equilibrium with air flow containing water vapor was investigated. Moments of heat pulse response curves were employed for the analysis. The first absolute moment and the second central moment were derived theoretically from a model taking into account mass transfer due to adsorption and the axial dispersion of an adsorbable component in the bed. Also, heat pulse responses were experimentally obtained for three levels of water vapor concentrations. Their moments could be appropriately accounted for by the theoretical treatment adopted.