Design of a Kilogram Scale, Plug Flow Photoreactor Enabled by High Power LEDs

A simple and inexpensive photoreactor with a throughput of kilograms of material per day has been developed. This achievement was enabled by using high-power Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) to provide high light density, leading to minimization of the footprint of the reactor. A study of the impact of tube diameter enabled maximization of the photon absorbance without increasing photocatalyst loading. Further optimization of reaction conditions using a design of experiments (DoE) elucidated reaction sensitivities that allowed the reaction rate, yield, and productivity to be maximized upon scale-up. The reactor has been operated continuously for 6 h leading to reaction performance that provided 12 kg of material per day at 90% conversion.