A theoretical model was built to simulate the adsorption-desorption process of propane onto a Na-ZSM-5 zeolite in a fixed bed under cold start conditions. This model was validated on a set of experimental data obtained for the adsorption, desorption and cold start cycles. The influence of operation conditions was modelled with various propane contents at the inlet of the adsorber, several heating rates in the furnace and space velocities ranging from 2000 to 5500 h(-1). Breakthrough curves, desorption cycles and cold start cycles were computed with a coefficient of determination of 0.98, 0.88 and 0.81, respectively. From the comparison of simulated and experimental results, it is evident the high versatility of the model as well as the high accuracy grade. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.