The effect of small amounts of water, in regard to inhibiting the adsorption of carbon dioxide (CO2), on several different cationic forms of zeolite X has been investigated using the zero length column (ZLC) technique, coupled with temperature-programmed desorption (TPD) measurements. This is shown to be a very effective way to study the effect of a strongly adsorbed species (water) on the adsorption of a less-strongly adsorbed species (CO2 or propane (C3H8)). It was observed that, for all systems studied, the Henry constant declines exponentially with the loading of water. As expected, this effect is stronger for CO2 than for C3H8.

Niobium oxide supported Pd-Co catalysts were characterized through XPS (X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy), (XPS), temperature-programmed reduction (TPR), magnetic measurements, X-ray diffraction, and extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS). XPS analyses suggested the presence of Co 3 O 4 particles and Co 2+ surface phase. TPR and magnetic measurements showed that the palladium addition promoted not only the reduction of Co 3 O 4 particles but also the cobalt surface phase. Magnetic measurements and EXAFS analyses revealed the Pd-Co alloy formation during reduction. A model represented by bimetallic particles enriched with palladium and particles containing only cobalt was proposed.