Integrated photocatalytic filtration array for indoor air quality control.
Photocatalytic and filtration technologies were integrated to develop a hybrid system capable of removing and oxidizing organic pollutants from an air stream. A fluidized bed aerosol generator (FBAG) was adapted to prepare TiO(2)-loaded ventilation filters for the photodegradation of gas phase ethanol. Compared to a manually loaded filter, the ethanol photodegradation rate constant for the FBAG coated filter increased by 361%. Additionally, the presence of the photogenerated intermediate product, acetaldehyde, was reduced and the time for mineralization to CO(2) was accelerated. These improvements were attributed to the FBAG system providing a more uniform distribution of TiO(2) particles across the filter surface leading to greater accessibility by the UV light. A dual-UV-lamp system, as opposed to a single-lamp system, enhanced photocatalytic filter performance demonstrating the importance of high light irradiance and light distribution across the filter surface. Substituting the blacklight blue lamps with a UV-light-emitting-diode (UV-LED) array led to further improvement as well as suppressed the electrical energy per order (EE/O) by a factor of 6. These improvements derived from the more uniform distribution of light irradiance as well as the higher efficiency of UV-LEDs in converting electrical energy to photons.
Denny
Frans
F
ARC Centre of Excellence for Functional Nanomaterials, School of Chemical Engineering, The University of New South Wales, NSW 2052, Australia.
Permana
Eric
E
Scott
Jason
J
Wang
Jing
J
Pui
David Y H
DY
Amal
Rose
R
D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000737:chemistry; D016902:Air Pollution, Indoor; D002384:Catalysis; D005374:Filtration / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D008027:Light; D010777:Photochemistry / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods*
D000393:Air Pollutants