Analysis of Butane Diffusion in Activated Carbon Canister

A canister filled with activated carbon prevents the emission of hydrocarbon into the air, through repeated adsorption and desorption process. A small amount of hydrocarbon, with n-butane as one of the major components, remains inside the canister. The diffusion of this residual n-butane affects Diurnal Breathing Loss performance. This study reports the quantitative difference of n-butane diffusion and breakthrough under three experimental conditions. Furthermore, diffusion speed, which is an important factor in the analysis of canister performance and the design development of canister, was also calculated.