Monte-Carlo simulations of methane/carbon dioxide and ethane/carbon dioxide mixture adsorption in zeolites and comparison with matrix treatment of statistical mechanical lattice model

Adsorption isotherms have been computed by Monte-Carlo simulation for methane/carbon dioxide and ethane/carbon dioxide mixtures adsorbed in the zeolite silicalite. These isotherms show remarkable differences with the ethane/carbon dioxide mixtures displaying strong adsorption preference reversal at high coverage. To explain the differences in the Monte-Carlo mixture isotherms an exact matrix calculation of the statistical mechanics of a lattice model of mixture adsorption in zeolites has been made. The lattice model reproduces the essential features of the Monte-Carlo isotherms, enabling us to understand the differing adsorption behaviour of methane/carbon dioxide and ethane/carbon dioxide mixtures in zeolites.