Abstract
Thermo-physical properties and water vapor uptake capacity are key parameters for the selection of adsorbent in adsorption desalination (AD) cycles. Three types of silica gels (Type RD 2650, Type A5BW and Type A(++)) are investigated using Autosorp-1 and Hydrosorp-1000 moisture analyzers. The surface area of each adsorbent is analyzed using Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) method and it is observed that Type A(++) silica gel possesses the highest surface area of 746m(2)/g. The pore-size distribution analysis of the above mentioned silica gels are conducted using the density functional theory (DFT). The results showed that all three parent silica gels have a two-maximum distribution or bimodal type and their pore diameter ranges are between 12 angstrom and 17 angstrom. The water vapor uptake analysis shows that the Type A(++) silica gel possesses the highest equilibrium uptakes of 537cm(3)/g. The presented data are essential for the design and the numerical simulation of the AD cycles.