Binary adsorption isotherms from chromatographic retention times

A new method to determine binary adsorption isotherms from a set of binary chromatographic retention-time experiments is proposed. It differs from existing methods in two main ways. The first is that a functional form is assumed for the isotherms. The second is that it does not require supplementary measurements to be made. The isotherm parameters are found by a computer search. Any other available data may be incorporated into the method. The method is tested on retention-time data for the coadsorption of nitrogen and argon on 5A molecular sieves and of ethane and ethylene on 13X molecular sieves. Very precise experimental data are required if the isotherms are to be reconstructed solely from retention data.