Pore‐diffusion model for cyclic separation: Temperature swing separation of hydrogen and methane at elevated pressures

A pore‐diffusion model is developed for temperature swing separation in a packed bed of sorbent. The model is applied to interpret experimental data for separation of H₂ of CH₄ in a packed bed of activated carbon operated in the temperature swing mode, at pressures up to 5.52 MPa. Experimental results on the effects of total pressure, particle size, adsorption temperature, and flow rate on separation efficiency compared favorably to the model predictions. The importance of pore diffusion in separation has been clearly demonstrated.