Parametric study on pressure-based packed bed adsorption system for air dehumidification

Abstract

Compressed air free from traces of water vapour is vital in many applications in an industrial sector. This study focuses on parametric optimization of a pressure-based packed bed adsorption system for air dehumidification through the Taguchi method and Genetic Algorithm. The effect of operational parameters, namely absolute feed air pressure, feed air linear velocity, and purge air flow rate percent on adsorption uptake rate of molecular sieve 13X-water pair, are studied based on L25 orthogonal array. From the analysis of variance, it has been found that absolute feed air pressure and purge air flow rate percent were the parameters making significant improvement in the adsorption uptake rate. A correlation representing the process was developed using regression analysis. The optimum adsorption conditions were obtained through the Taguchi method and genetic algorithm and verified through the confirmation experiments. This system can be recommended for the industrial and domestic applications that require product air with the dew point temperature below 0°C.