A thermodynamically consistent explicit competitive adsorption isotherm model based on second-order single component behaviour.

A competitive adsorption isotherm model is derived for binary mixtures of components characterized by single component isotherms which are second-order truncations of higher order equilibrium models suggested by multi-layer theory and statistical thermodynamics. The competitive isotherms are determined using the ideal adsorbed solution (IAS) theory which, in case of complex single component isotherms, does not generate explicit expressions to calculated equilibrium loadings and causes time consuming iterations in simulations of adsorption processes. The explicit model derived in this work is based on an analysis of the roots of a cubic polynomial resulting from the set of IAS equations. The suggested thermodynamically consistent and widely applicable competitive isotherm model can be recommended as a flexible tool for efficient simulations of fixed-bed adsorber dynamics.