Photocatalytic degradation of toluene vapour using fixed bed multichannel photoreactors equipped with TiO2-coated fabrics.
The feasibility of producing TiO2-coated fabric using nonwoven polyester as a photocatalyst support was examined through investigations on (i) changes in the fabric properties after coating with TiO2, (ii) the toluene removal capacity of a multichannel TiO2/fabric/UV reactor in removing the toluene vapour with and without O3 addition, and (iii) the photocatalytic effect of regenerated TiO2. The value and usefulness of a multichannel photoreactor as a main reactor or a supplementary device to improve the efficiency of VOC (volatile organic chemicals) removal in a photoreacting fabric filter, which was originally invented to simultaneously remove fine dust and VOCs, was manifested through investigations of the multichannel effect in the treatment of large volumes of air containing toluene as a sample VOC vapour. The parallel-flow photoreactor was manufactured by fixing TiO2-coated fabrics in parallel along the gas flow and installing UV sources for every channel. Photocatalytic degradation of toluene vapour was investigated with respect to various operational parameters such as reaction time, photocatalyst load, vapour load and number of channels. Toluene vapour was taken as a sample VOC because it is a non-biodegradable toxic organic substance, and the UV/TiO2 process was tested as an alternative process to biofiltration. As a result of this study, it was confirmed that nonwoven polyester can be used as a photocatalyst support, and the multichannel photoreactor, equipped with TiO2-coated fabrics, is a useful device that can economically and efficiently treat a larger vapour load by providing more channels with ozone addition and by arranging the reactor units in series.
Department of Environmental Engineering, Pusan National University, Busan 609-735, South Korea.
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D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000737:chemistry*; D002384:Catalysis; D010777:Photochemistry / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D011091:Polyesters / Q000737:chemistry; D014025:Titanium / Q000737:chemistry*; D014050:Toluene / Q000737:chemistry*; D014466:Ultraviolet Rays
D000393:Air Pollutants; D011091:Polyesters; C009495:titanium dioxide; D014050:Toluene; D014025:Titanium