Thermal Desorption of Organic Solvent from Activated Carbon for Determination of Vapor Concentration in Work Environment

Abstract

A thermal desorption method is proposed for the measurement of single- and bi-component organic solvents adsorbed on activated carbon. The adsorbed amount was obtained from the measured desorbed amount and the estimated thermal desorption efficiency. Two estimation methods are proposed to determine the desorption efficiency. One is a numerical method, and the other is a simplified analytical method. The numerical method is generally more accurate than the simplified method in estimating the desorption curve and the desorption efficiency, but much time is needed for calculating. By the simplified method, the desorption efficiency could be estimated quickly by using a personal computer. The estimated desorption efficiencies determined by the two methods are compared with the experimental values. A determination procedure of the adsorbed amount by the proposed method is described.