A new engineering-oriented model for prediction of the effect of temperature on the kinetics of oxygen absorption by iron-based oxygen scavengers (IOSs) was developed. The model is based on the physicochemical mechanism of the O2 scavenging process by the active component of the IOS (iron powder). The conclusions of this study are: (1) the iron deposits formed on the iron particles are composed of 2 different layers: an inner layer of Fe3 O4 and an outer layer of FeOOH that vanishes with the depletion of oxygen. (2) The model considers the chemical processes in the heterogeneous closed system "Fe-H2 O-NaCl-O2 " and describes the kinetics of oxygen absorption by the powder, depending on the characteristics of the system. (3) The nonlinear ordinary differential equation (ODE) of the O2 absorption kinetics was derived and a simple approximate solution to this ODE was obtained theoretically that is similar to the empirical exponential formula published in the relevant literature. (4) The temperature dependence of the oxygen absorption rate is more complicated than that described by the Arrhenius equation.
Keywords: absorption kinetics; iron deposits; iron powder; moisture adsorption; oxygen scavengers.
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