ASTM_D_5160_-_95_2019.pdf

Designation:D516095(Reapproved 2019)Standard Guide forGas-Phase Adsorption Testing of Activated Carbon1This standard is issued under the fixed designation D5160;the number immediately following the designation indicates the year oforiginal adoption or,in the case of revision,the year of last revision.A number in parentheses indicates the year of last reapproval.Asuperscript epsilon()indicates an editorial change since the last revision or reapproval.1.Scope1.1 This guide covers the evaluation of activated carbons forgas-phase adsorption.It presents a procedure for determiningthe dynamic adsorption capacity,No,and critical bed depth,dc,for an activated carbon used to remove a specific adsorbatefrom a gas stream under conditions chosen by the user.1.2 The values stated in SI units are to be regarded asstandard.No other units of measurement are included in thisstandard.1.3 This standard does not purport to address all of thesafety concerns,if any,associated with its use.It is theresponsibility of the user of this standard to establish appro-priate safety,health,and environmental practices and deter-mine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.Specific hazards statements are given in Section 7.1.4 This international standard was developed in accor-dance with internationally recognized principles on standard-ization established in the Decision on Principles for theDevelopment of International Standards,Guides and Recom-mendations issued by the World Trade Organization TechnicalBarriers to Trade(TBT)Committee.2.Referenced Documents2.1 ASTM Standards:2D2652 Terminology Relating to Activated CarbonD2854 Test Method for Apparent Density of ActivatedCarbonD2867 Test Methods for Moisture in Activated CarbonD3467 Test Method for Carbon Tetrachloride Activity ofActivated CarbonE300 Practice for Sampling Industrial Chemicals3.Terminology3.1 Definitions:3.1.1 breakthroughthe appearance in the effluent of aspecified concentration of an adsorbate of interest.3.1.2 Other terms relating to this guide are defined inTerminology D2652.4.Summary of Guide4.1 An activated carbon bed that contains a known amountof carbon is challenged with an adsorbate in a gas stream underconditions of flow rate,adsorbate concentration,temperature,pressure,and relative humidity set by the user.The time tobreakthrough of a specified concentration of adsorbate ismeasured.The measurement is repeated using the same con-ditions but varying the amount of carbon in the bed.For manypractical systems,a plot of breakthrough time versus amount ofcarbon is linear.The slope and x-intercept of this line can beused to calculate the dynamic capacity,No(expressed as gramsadsorbate/grams carbon or grams adsorbate/cm3carbon)andcritical bed depth,dc,characteristic of the activated carbonunder the conditions used in the test.5.Significance and Use5.1 Activated carbon is used extensively for removing gasesand vapors from air or other gas streams.The physical andchemical characteristics of an activated carbon can stronglyinfluence its suitability for a given application.The procedurein this guide allows the evaluation of the dynamic adsorptioncharacteristics of an activated carbon for a particular adsorbateunder conditions chosen by the user.It is necessary that theuser choose test conditions that are meaningful for the appli-cation(see Section 9).5.2 This guide can also be used to evaluate activatedcarbons that have been impregnated with materials to enhancetheir effectiveness at removing gases otherwise poorly ad-sorbed on activated carbon.5.3 The procedure given in this guide is not generallyapplicable for evaluation of carbons used as catalysts for suchpurposes as decomposition of low levels of ozone or oxidationof SO2to SO3.5.4 The procedure given in this guide can be applied toreactivated or regenerated activated carbons.5.5 Fig.1 shows the adsorbate concentration profile in anactivated carbon bed at breakthrough.The bed has a zone at the1This guide is under the jurisdiction of ASTM Committee D28 on ActivatedCarbon and is the direct responsibility of Subcommittee D28.04 on Gas PhaseEvaluation Tests.Current edition approved Sept.1,2019.Published September 2019.Originallyapproved in 1991.Last previous edition approved in 2014 as D5160 95(2014).DOI:10.1520/D5160-95R19.2For referenced ASTM standards,visit the ASTM website,www.astm.org,orcontact ASTM Customer Service at serviceastm.org.For Annual Book of ASTMStandards volume information,refer to the standards Document Summary page onthe ASTM website.Copyright ASTM International,100 Barr Harbor Drive,PO Box C700,West Conshohocken,PA 19428-2959.United StatesThis international standard was developed in accordance with internationally recognized principles on standardization established in the Decision on Principles for theDevelopment of International Standards,Guides and Recommendations issued by the World Trade Organization Technical Barriers to Trade(TBT)Committee.1 inlet in which the adsorbate concentra