Scaling-up of a photoreactor for formic acid degradation employing hydrogen peroxide and UV radiation

LABAS, M.D.; C.S. ZALAZAR; R.J. BRANDI; C.A. MARTÍN; A.E. CASSANO

HELVETICA CHIMICA ACTA

WILEY-V C H VERLAG GMBH

Lugar: Weinheim; Año: 2002 vol. 85 p. 82 - 95

0018-019X

A procedure to scale-up photoreactors employed in AOP employing laboratory information has been developed. Operating with a model compound the proposed procedure was applied to the decomposition of formic acid in water using hydrogen peroxide and UV radiation. With laboratoty experiments the kinetic equation was obtained in a small batch reactor operating in a recycle mode. The whole system was modeled employing radiation and mass balances. These balances were used together with a non-linear parameter estimator to derive the kinetic model. Then, these results were used in the modeling of the large scale reactor no predict exit conversions in an isothermal, continuous, tubular flow reactor that is two meter long and has volume 12 liters. Once more, radiation and mass balances were used to predict output concentrations of formic acid. Experimental data in the large-scale apparatus are in good agreement with theoretical predictions.