Performance of Nonconcentrating Solar Photocatalytic Oxidation Reactors: Part I—Flat-Plate Configuration

A nonconcentrating flat-plate photoreactor has been fabricated and tested in an outdoor solar photocatalytic oxidation facility. It has been demonstrated that 4-chlorophenol (4CP) is successfully oxidized when operating under either sunny or cloudy atmospheric conditions. Tests have been conducted with the photocatalyst, titanium dioxide (TiO2), either mixed into the 4CP solution to form a slurry or adhered to a fiberglass mesh in a fixed configuration. The reaction rate constant for the slurry mode is typically two to five times greater than that for the fixed catalyst mesh tested at similar ultraviolet (UV) insolation conditions. In addition, the reaction rate constant appears to vary linearly with the UV insolation, and it shows no dependence on liquid film thickness in the slurry mode, but appears to vary linearly with the inverse of film thickness in the fixed catalyst mode. All tests were performed in the laminar flow regime. Design recommendations for industrial development are presented.