[F.THERMOTECH ENTERPRISES... Media Wars Fact Versus Fiction Adsorption: There has been much discussion of the different types of desiccant coatings used on energy recovery wheels. Before we delve into the different types of desiccants we need to understand the basics of "Adsorption" compared to "Absorption" ‘Adsorption: The adhesion in an extremely thin layer of molecules (as of gases, solutes, or liquids) to the surfaces of solid bodies or 5 liquids with which they are in contact. The point at which itis not receptive to more molecules is called q equilibrium. Absorption: To suck up or take up . The point at which itis no longer able to absorb further is called saturation. ‘Simply put, if you spill some coffee on your shirt it is absorbed by the cotton fibers. When you drink the coffee your body adsorbs it. Adsorption happens on the molecular level. Desiceants: Silica Gel: Colloidal silica resembling coarse white sand in appearance but possessing many fine pores and therefore extremely adsorbent. Silica gel is a very effective desiccant for drying compressed air/gas streams, especially natural gas. Silica gel takes longer to reach equilibrium but can hold a slightly higher volume of moisture than molecular sieves, Molecular Sieve: A crystalline substance (as a zeolite) characterized by uniformly sized pores of molecular dimension that can adsorb small molecules and is used especially in separations. Molecular sieves are crystalline metal aluminosilicates having a three dimensional interconnecting network of silica and alumina tetrahedra. Natural water of hydration is removed from this network by heating to produce uniform cavities, which selectively adsorb molecules of a specific size. Molecular sieves reach equilibrium very rapidly. Molecular sieves are manufactured in different pore sizes determined by the cation atom used.The 3A form is made by substituting potassium cations for the inherent sodium ions of the 4A structure, reducing the effective pore size to ~3A, excluding diameter >3A, e.g. ethane, The result is that some of the 3 A desiccant is actually 4 A in size, The 4 A form: This sodium form represents the type A family of molecular sieves. Effective pore opening is 4A, thus excluding molecules of effective diameter >4A, e.g., propane. All 4 A desiccant is actually 4A in size. The 5 A form: Divalent calcium ions in place of sodium cations give apertures of ~SA_ which exclude molecules of effective diameter >SA, e.g., all 4-carbon tings, and iso- compounds. The result is that some of the 5 A desiccant is actually 4 A in size ‘Water Adsorption: One clear advantage of the 4 A desiccant is that it can adsorb 20% mote water vapor then the 3.4 form. Breck 1984 states that 4 A desiccant holds 28.5%/wt. of water vapor compared to 23.0% for the 3 A form. All of these desiecants have their pros and cons. The fact is that under most conditions all these desiccants do the job of adsorbing and transferring H20 between airsireams, All of these desiccants were designed for applications other than energy recovery wheels, Molecular Size: Fact: the size of any gas molecule is only an approximation, The kinetic theory of gas molecules has tried to deseribe the size of these molecules. This size is sometimes referred to as effective diameter or kinetic diameter. Another model that is used by the chemical companies that manufacture desiccants is Known as critical size. Breck 1984, Explains that the kinetic or collision —_j diameter of a molecule is the intermolecular ie distance for closest approach for two molecules colliding with zero initial kinetic energy. Brock 1984 also lists the critical diameters of these molecules as length and width. This is important for non-spherical molecules such as water vapor or ammoniaKinetic and critical diameters of common gases Formula Name Length | Width | Radius*. | Kinetic | Critical _ | D* | Size** 120 Water | 3.9 | 3.15 - 265 | 3.2] NHB ‘Ammonia 41 38 2.6 3.6 CO__| Carbon Monoxide | “4.2 37 3.76 | 2.8 C02] Carbon Dioxide [5.1 37 33 21g a C2H2 Acetylene 37 37 3.3 24 CL Chlorine 5.6 3.6 32 | C3H8 Propane 65 49, 43 49 | H28 | Hydrogen Sulfide | 4.36 | 4.0 3.6 3.6 cha Methane 42 | 425 3.8 4.0 "All measurericnis in angsteoms, “Radius is ited only for spherical molecules ** Critical size from Sigma Aldrich Chemicals, A Georgia Tech Research Institute paper lists that water vapor has a critical dianer of 2.8 A in the same paper they list the kinetic diameter of Carbon dioxide as 33 These inconsistencies can be discussed at length with the chemist of your choice, Testing data from research on energy recovery wheels and published reports on desiccants provides that there is a possible range of molecular diameters of gases. For water vapor the range should be from. to3.2A Note: A chemical engineering professor at the University of South Florida stated. “That the molecular sieve used to adsorb a specific gas should have a pore size approximately 20% larger than the size of the gas molecule to be adsorbed.” Depending on which size model of the water molecule is used, a range of optimum pore sizes can be calculated. The optimal pore size would be from 3.2 x to 3.8 A. This means that 3 A media would not provide the optimal pore size to transfer H20. This is further validated by the data on water adsorption chart in Breck 1984. Water Vapo: Energy recovery wheels are extremely efficient because they exchange the total energy of the air stream. Total energy is both the heat transfer and moisture transfer. There is a lot of water vapor in the air and anyone who has seen a cold glass sweat drops of condensed water would agree. Under most circumstances the desiccant ina wheel reaches equilibrium with the water vapor in the airstreams and is constantly ‘exchanging a portion of this vapor between the aitstreams. This is truc for all desiccants as water vapor is a highly polar molecule and has an affinity for the pores of desiccant. > 3.2 A The critical diameter of an H2O molecule. This is an important fact.3A versus 4A Desiccants versus Silica Gel: 3A desiccant is too restrictive in pore size to adsorb all the H20 molecules. ‘This is easy to see as water molecules have a range of sizes from 2.65 to 3.2 A. Some of the molecular sieve pores may not reach equilibrium with the available water vapor leaving space for other polar molecules such as ammonia, carbon dioxide, and carbon monoxide all with a kinetic or critical diameter of <3, 4A desiccant does not face this challenge, as it will not reject any H20 molecules and will more readily reach equilibrium with the water vapor leaving less room for contaminants, Both 3A and 4A desiccants are able to transfer H20 more rapidly than silica gel, which means that 4A desiccant, is the best choice for all around use in an energy recovery wheel At Thermotech we offer media coated with Balanced Sieve desiccant, 4 micro engineered desiccant coating, This molecular sieve desiccant has a very tight 4 A pore size as it is manufactured by using the inherent sodium atom as a cation. The 4A desiccant coating has superior mechanical characteristics that provide for a uniform and rugged coating which will stand up to the rigors of the real world. Just like other Thermotech products we ensure that the coating will stand up to tough environmental challenges. Thermotech's Balanced Sieve coated media is the perfect balance between energy transfer and contaminant control Thermoteeh also provides media for special applications including stainless steel, ceramic, ion exchange resin and epoxy coated aluminum Thermotech has the real world answers you're looking for. We pride ourselves on finding solutions to your energy recovery needs, Sources: Zeolite Molecular Sieves Structure, chemistry and use Donald W. Breck 1984 Adsorption and Ion Exchange Separations. J. D Sherman AICE 1978 Results of Chemical cross contamination testing. GTRI 1991 Sigma Aldrich Chemical Co. web site: http:/Avww.sigmaaldrich.com ‘Swambe Chemicals Co. website: http://www.swambe.com/molesei.htm National Institute of Standards and Technology website: http://www.nist.gov/ [l].THERMOTECH ENTERPRISES... Thermotech Enterprises P.O. Box 1607 Oldsmar, FI. 34677 Tel. 813-814-1204 Fax 813-814-1107 www.thermotech-usa.com Micro Engineered Desiccant Coaling