Abstract: Using activated carbon (AC) to recover gasoline vapor from the mixture of oil vapor and nitrogen was studied. Three AC adsorbents were involved and their pore structures were characterized by nitrogen adsorption measurement. The effect of AC pore structure, the inlet concentration of oil vapor and the size of the fixed bed on the adsorption capacity, as well as the vacuum degree and desorbing time on the desorption capacity were investigated. Results showed that the adsorption capacity of oil vapor on AC was depended on the volume of pores having diameter in the range of 1～2nm. The adsorption capacity of oil vapor could be increased with the increase of inlet oil concentration, yet the breakthrough time was shortened and the temperature rise of the adsorption bed could be extremely high. Large bed size was helpful for the increase of adsorption capacity as well as the extension of breakthrough time and keeping a moderate temperature rise of the bed. Gasoline vapor could be fully desorbed under a lower vacuum degree and a longer time while considering the operation cost simultaneously.

Key words: oil vapor recovery, activated carbon, adsorption, desorption