Validation Cases and Examples
Skarstrom ships with a set of ready-made simulation files, most of them reproducing published adsorption studies. They are the fastest way to learn the software: open one, inspect how it is set up, and adapt it to your own problem.
Load them from the Examples menu of the workspace. Each is an ordinary .json simulation file that you can modify and save under a new name. In the workspace you can also open one directly with a link of the form /workspace?example=<file>.json, for example /workspace?example=Perez2019_D1.json. The decks live in examples/decks/ in the engine repository, which also has a Python script for every deck family.
How well do the examples match the papers?
Every paper-based example is also an automated validation test. The Validation page lists, for each case, the simulated and published values and the error metric (breakthrough-curve RMSE, absolute purity/recovery error, relative productivity error), including the cases where Skarstrom and the paper disagree, and why.
Worked tutorials
- Ward 2022: a single-component CO₂ breakthrough experiment on activated carbon, from components through to the validated outlet curve. Start here.
- O₂ PSA (Arora 2021): a four-step Skarstrom cycle for medical oxygen on LiLSX, and how to read purity and recovery when product is recycled.
- CO₂ VPSA with LPP (Perez 2019): a five-step vacuum swing cycle on zeolite 13X with light-product pressurisation, run to cyclic steady state and compared with experiment.
Bundled example decks
The menu groups the decks by source:
| Menu group | Decks | What they are |
|---|---|---|
| Arora (2021) | Arora2021_LiLSX_PSA, Arora2021_LiLSX_PVSA | O₂ from air on LiLSX zeolite, 4-step PSA and vacuum PSA (Table 4) |
| Casas (2012) | Casas2012_Fig4_50_50_15bar_25C, Casas2012_Fig6_25_75_15bar_25C, Casas2012_Fig6_75_25_15bar_25C | CO₂/H₂ breakthrough on activated carbon AP3-60 at 15 bar and 25 °C, three feed compositions (Figs. 4 and 6) |
| Ferre (2026) | Ferre2026_NaYF | CO₂/CH₄ biogas upgrading, 4-step PVSA on zeolite NaY (Table 5) |
| Nguyen (2022) | Nguyen2022_Fig4, Nguyen2022_Fig5 | CO₂/He and CO₂/N₂/He breakthrough on CALF-20 (Figs. 4 and 5) |
| Nguyen (2023) | Nguyen2023_Exp_I … Nguyen2023_Exp_X | CO₂/N₂ VPSA on structured CALF-20: experiments I–V use the basic 4-step cycle, VI–X the 4-step cycle with light-product pressurisation (Table 2) |
| Perez (2019) | Perez2019_A, _B, _C1, _D1, _E, _F | CO₂/N₂ VSA on zeolite 13X: A, B and C1 are the basic 4-step cycle, D1, E and F add light-product pressurisation (Table 3) |
| Streb (2021) | Streb2021_A1, Streb2021_A3 | CO₂/CH₄ breakthrough on zeolite 13X with thermocouple data |
| Vysyaraju (2024) | Vysyaraju2024_PSA_exp1 | He/N₂ separation on binderless zeolite 5A, 5-step PSA |
| Ward (2022) | Ward2022_Q50ccm, Q=100[ccm], Q=200[ccm] | CO₂ breakthrough on activated carbon at three feed flow rates |
| Ward (2024) | Ward2024 | CO₂/N₂ 4-step VSA on Mg-MOF-74 (Table 4) |
Several decks carry the experimental curves digitised from their paper on the Experimental Data tab of the Solver panel; see Experimental Data.
Working with an example
- Open the example from the Examples menu.
- Review each item in the Navigator (Fluid Package, Adsorbents, Column Properties, Cycle Design) to see how it is configured.
- Run the solver and plot the results; overlay the supplied experimental data where provided.
- Adapt parameters and use File → Save… to keep your own copy.