Intraparticle mass transport in slurries by dynamic adsorption studies

Rates were measured at 25°C for the adsorption of benzaldehyde from an aqueous solution into particles of Amberlite, or activated carbon, suspended in the solution. The data for monodisperse, Amberlite particles (mean pore radius = 50Å) showed significant intraparticle diffusion resistance over the entire particle size range 200 to 900 microns (diameter). Intraparticle diffusivities were larger (tortuosity factor ∼ 0.35) than expected from pore‐volume diffusion in the liquid‐filled pores. For the activated carbon particles (of the same size) which have a bidisperse pore‐volume distribution (pore diameter range 15 to 104Å), the effect of intraparticle diffusion was much less important and separation of the external diffusion resistance to obtain a precise value of the intraparticle diffusivity was not possible. However, De values are larger than for Amberlite and much greater than the molecular diffusivity of benzaldehyde in liquid‐filled pores. The unusually high intraparticle diffusivity seems most likely to be due to interpreting dynamic adsorption data for a bidisperse porous particle with a theory involving but one diffusivity.