Tertiary Butyl Mercaptan Adsorption in Soils. Determination of Kinetic and Transport Parameters from Experimental Data

EBERHARDT, ANDREA; LOPEZ, EDUARDO; BUCALA, VERONICA; DAMIANI, DANIEL

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL REACTOR ENGINEERING

BERKELEY ELECTRONIC PRESS

Año: 2003 vol. 1

1542-6580

Tertiary Butyl Mercaptan Adsorption in Soils. Determination of Kinetic and Transport Parameters from Experimental Data The present paper addresses the importance of the adsorptive properties of argentinean soils in the odor fade odor problem that is faced in the presence of odorized natural gas leakages. Samples of soils were subjected to stimulus-response experiments in which the soils were exposed to a step change in odorant concentration. A typical S shaped breakhrough curve was obtained at the soil bed exit. The adsorption characteristics of each soil is associated to its composition. The results confirm that clay based soils adsorb the gas odorant (tert butyl mercaptan) more strongly than sand based soils or soils with high organic carbon content. The adsorption process was modeled. The model takes into account the following mass-transfer processes: plug flow of TBM along the solid bed, external resistances to the mass transfer, diffusion within the particle and adsorption/desorption of TBM between the gas phase of the intraparticle pore space and the particle surface. The model reproduces quite well the experimental data. The results suggest that the odorant adsorption process is controlled by the mass transfer steps.