The diffusive and adsorptive properties of water vapor and organic compounds on highly silicious zeolites will be determined by a gravimetric technique and a well-stirred reactor. The primary objective is to obtain adsorption and diffusion data as a function of Si/Al ratios for both single component and multicomponent systems to gain fundamental understanding of adsorption and diffusion in zeolites. Furthermore, competitive adsorption from gaseous mixtures will be investigated with water vapor as an important variable. The current gravimetric system is unique in that the system pressure, the sample temperature and the sample weight change can be monitored simultaneously during the entire sorption process. This unique feature allows one to examine the temperature effect on sorption. More important is the fact that this feature makes it possible to differentiate the thermal effects from other factors by keeping the temperature rise at a minimum. Also unique to the well-stirred system is the capability to investigate the displacement phenomena resulting from competitive adsorption which is important in practical adsorption applications.
