Modeling of a photocatalytic reactor for the degradation of perchloroethylene in gas phase

IMOBERDORF, G.E.; CASSANO, A.E.; IRAZOQUI, H.A.; ALFANO, O.M.

Cubatão/SP, Brasil

Congreso; Encontro sobre Aplicações Ambientais de Processos Oxidativos Avançados - IV EPOA; 2007

Centro de Capacitação e Pesquisa em Meio Ambiente - CEPEMA/USP

A methodology for the analysis and design of a photocatalytic reactor for indoor air decontamination is put forward. The photocatalytic reactor consists of concentric cylindrical walls coated with a thin layer of titanium dioxide, which are irradiated with near UV radiation. The proposed methodology is based on the fundamentals of chemical reaction engineering and radiative transfer theory, without using adjustable parameters in going from the laboratory information to a pilot scale apparatus. This approach consists of three main steps: (i) a kinetic study of the perchloroethylene (PCE) degradation in an air stream for different PCE feed concentrations, relative humidity levels, and radiation intensities, (ii) the modeling and simulation of a multiannular, pilot scale photocatalytic reactor, and (iii) the analysis of radiative energy efficiencies of the photocatalytic reactor.