(329x) Charge and Discharge Cycles in a Storage Vessel for Adsorbed Natural Gas

Due to the natural gas expanded usage, it is necessary to develop alternative technologies for its transportation in economically viable and safe ways to distant areas from the delivery point in gas pipelines using vessels filled with adsorbent at moderate pressures (about 3.5 to 4.0 MPa) and ambient temperatures. This study intends to accomplish experimental loading and delivery tests of Natural Gas using a prototype storage vessel filled with microporous activated carbon, to investigate the long term behavior of the adsorption capacity with charge and discharge cycles. A larger adsorption capacity was observed for the heavier components, in relation to methane, which decreases the adsorbent efficiency in a long-term usage due to large adsorbed amounts even in low pressures. The relative selectivities of the several constituents of NG in relation to methane were also measured and their variation with pressure was calculated.