International Journal of Hydrogen Energy 26 (2001) 597–601 www.elsevier.com/locate/ijhydene Determination of compressibility factor and fugacity coe(cient of hydrogen in studies of adsorptive storage Li Zhoua;∗, Yaping Zhoub aHigh Pressure Adsorption Laboratory, Chemical Engineering Research Center, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, People’s Republic of China bDepartment of Chemistry, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, People’s Republic of China Abstract The compressibility factor (z) of hydrogen was evaluated from the experimental p–V –T data and calculated from equations of state, such as the SRK equation and BWR equation as well. The e5ect of z on the adsorbed amount calculated was demonstrated by the adsorption of hydrogen on 5A-zeolite. The compressibility factor and the fugacity coe(cient of hydrogen were formulated based on the experimental p–V –T data for 60–333 K and up to 25 MPa. ? 2001 International Association for Hydrogen Energy. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction from an appropriate equation of state. However, the calcu- lated values should be compared with those evaluated from The hydrogen fuel cell powered cars will play a major the experimental p–V –T data before being applied for the role in urban transportation soon [1]. The storage of hydro- determination of adsorption. gen on board might be the ÿnal obstacle for the commer- The author selected two equations of state to evaluate cialization of PEMFC cars. Adsorptive storage of gaseous the compressibility factor of hydrogen. One is the Soave– hydrogen has been an attractive technology apart from oth- Redlich–Kwong (SRK) equation, which is a good trade-o5 ers [2]. The specially designed activated carbon and carbon between precision and tediousness of calculation and is nanoÿber have been considered the most promising adsor- widely applied in petrochemical processing computations. bents, though there still are some conAicting arguments. Ap- Another is Bennedict–Webb–Rubin (BWR) equation, propriate conclusion should be derived from reliable data. which contains eight parameters and is recommended espe- However, publications related to the adsorption capacity cially for hydrogen [3]. The experimental p–V –T data of of adsorbents did not make clear how the factors a5ecting hydrogen came from Vargaftik [4]. The authors searched the adsorption capacity of adsorbents were accounted for. the Journal of Physical and Chemical Reference Data Among other factors, the compressibility factor of hydrogen from the beginning till the latest issue, but no updated data must be accounted for up to 10 MPa pressures so long as for hydrogen were found. It is hoped that the information the amount adsorbed was calculated from the p–V –T rela- presented will help people who are interested in adsorptive tion. On the other hand, pressure should be replaced by fu- storage of hydrogen to facilitate their computation job, gacity at high pressures, if theoretical relations that derived especially, those to whom chemistry is not a speciÿc ÿeld. initially for ideal gas were introduced. Unfortunately, the data source for compressibility factor and the fugacity co- e(cient of hydrogen are not available. Both, the compress- 2. Evaluation of compressibility factor from the SRK ibility factor and the fugacity coe(cient, can be calculated equation ∗ Corresponding author. Tel.: +86-22-2740-6163; fax: SRK equation is a three-parameter equation of state. +86-22-2740-4757. Better results are usually expected than two-parameter E-mail address: [email protected] (L. Zhou). equations and are used satisfactorily in the domain of 0360-3199/01/$ 20.00 ? 2001 International Association for Hydrogen Energy. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved. PII: S0360-3199(00)00123-3 598 L. Zhou, Y. Zhou / International Journal of Hydrogen Energy 26 (2001) 597–601 petrochemical process engineering. The SRK equation re- where is the density of gas, which relates to the compress- lates the compressibility factor and the fugacity coe(cient as ibility factor by follows: A0 C0 a 2 a 5 ∗ ∗ z =1+ B − − + b − + f A B 0 3 ln = z − 1 − ln(z − B∗) − ln 1+ ; (1) RT RT RT RT P B∗ z c2 + [(1 + 2)exp(−2)]: (2a) where = f=p is the fugacity coe(cient, and z is the com- RT 3 pressibility factor. A∗ and B∗ can be determined from three It is a dimensional equation, where p is in atm, T in K, parameters of the gas: critical pressure P ; critical tempera- c in mol=l or kmol=m3;R=0:08205 atm l=mol K or atm ture T and the eccentric factor !: c m3=kmol K. The eight parameters of hydrogen take the val- ∗ P=Pc ◦ A =0:4278 · · ; (1a) ues that follow for the condition of 0–150 C and r¡2:5: 2 (T=Tc) −3 3 P=P a = − 9:2211 × 10 (l=mol) atm; B∗ =0:0867 · c ; (1b) T=Tc A =9:7319 × 10−2 (l=mol)2 atm; 0:5 0:5 0 =1+m(1 − Tr ); (1c) b =1:7976 × 10−4 (l=mol)2; m =0:480+1:574! − 0:176!2: (1d) −2 Since ! = − 0:216 for hydrogen [3], it yields B0 =1:8041 × 10 l=mol; m =0:131805: c = − 2:4613 × 102 (l=mol)3 K2 atm; The critical parameters of hydrogen are 2 2 Tc =33:2K; Pc =1:28 MPa: C0 =3:8914 × 10 (l=mol) K atm; For example, T = 298:15 K; Tr = 298:15=33:2=8:9804. By = − 3:4215 × 10−6 (l=mol)3; the substitution of m and Tc in Eq. (1c), one obtains 2 298:15 0:5 −3 2 = 1+0:131805 1 − =0:5429: =1:89 × 10 (l=mol) : 33:2 By substituting the eight parameters and the value of R in The values of A∗ and B∗ can thus be determined from Eqs. Eq. (2) one obtains (1a) and (1b). Compressibility factor z is obtained by solv- p =0:08205T ing the following equation: 389:14 z3 − z2 + z(A∗ − B∗ − B∗2) − A∗B∗ =0: (1e) + 1:4803 × 10−3T − 9:7319 × 10−2 − 2 T 2 Eq. (1e) was solved by an iteration method. The conver- −5 −3 3 gence criterion was set equal to 1 × 10−11. The values of +(1:4749 × 10 T +9:2211 × 10 ) z and A∗;B∗ were substituted in Eq. (1), from which the 246:133 +3:155 × 10−86 − fugacity coe(cient was determined. T 2 It is not di(cult to ÿnd the three parameters of a gas ×[(1+0:001892)exp(−0:001892)]: (2b) needed by the SRK equation. Besides, no special constraints were appended. Therefore, the SRK equation is quite con- Eq. (2b) can be solved easily by the secant method. A con- venient for users. vergence function was formulated based on Eq. (2b): f()=0:08205T 3. Evaluation of compressibility factor from the BWR 389:14 + 1:4803 × 10−3T − 9:7319 × 10−2 − 2 equation T 2 −5 −3 3 The BWR equation contains eight parameters, therefore +(1:4749 × 10 T +9:2211 × 10 ) is more precise than three-parameter equations especially at 246:133 +3:155 × 10−86 − above-critical temperatures and not very high pressures. It T 2 reads [5] ×[(1+0:001892)exp(−0:001892)] − p: (2c) C p = RT + B RT − A − 0 2 +(bRT − a)3 0 0 T 2 The iteration formula is c3 k−1f(k ) − k f(k−1) +a6 + [(1 + 2)exp(−2)]; (2) k+1 = : (2d) T 2 f(k ) − f(k−1) L. Zhou, Y. Zhou / International Journal of Hydrogen Energy 26 (2001) 597–601 599 of hydrogen came from Ref. [2]. The pressure and tempera- ture increments in the table are not even. To get the data for the conditions of interest, one has to establish the functional relations between molar volume Vm and T for a speciÿed p ÿrst, and between Vm and p for a speciÿed T afterwards. The compressibility factor z was calculated from Eq. (3) for the data given in the table pV z = m : (3) 14:696 × 82:056 × T The z-values were calculated for selected temperatures from 60 to 333 K up to 25 MPa, which is wide enough to cover the condition of adsorptive storage of hydrogen. The calcu- lated z-values were correlated with pressure by a polyno- mial function. As a consequence, the e5ect of experimental errors in the measurement of Vm was alleviated, as shown in Fig. 1 at 60 and 77 K. The coe(cients of the correlation are provided in Table 1. 5. Comments on the SRK and BWR equation Fig. 1. Compressibility factor of hydrogen. Comparison was made between the z-values calculated from the equations of state and those evaluated from the ex- Two initial values of are needed in iteration. One is set to perimental p–V –T data of hydrogen. The root mean square zero, another is set to the density of ideal gas: p=RT. The of the deviations between the two kinds of z-values are compressibility factor z can be calculated from the value of shown in Fig. 2. The BWR equation seems to be more known via Eq. (2a). precise than SRK equation. However, the parameter val- ues available are limited to 273 K and higher. Therefore, the z-value at 253 K is not legally calculated and, no more 4. Evaluation of compressibility factor from the z-values at lower temperatures was provided. The SRK equa- experimental p–V–T data tion is not bad since only 1% deviation is observed at tem- perature as low as 113 K. Any comment on an equation of state must be relied on The e5ect of precision of z-values on the determination experimental p–V –T data of real gases.