Initial Approximation to the Design and Construction of a Photocatalysis Reactor for Phenol Degradation with TiO2 Nanoparticles

A photoreactor was designed, built, and optimized to carry out the degradation of phenol. To achieve this, phenol concentration was used as the reference to compare the photocatalysis reaction efficiency obtained through this research with results from other studies. Additionally, during the building process, different types of glass were evaluated with the objective of finding a functional and economic material to build the photoreactor. It was found that Pyrex glass was the most suitable material to work with. As a UV light source to build the photoreactor, a dry gel nail lamp was used with 9 W, lambda = 365 nm bulbs. On the other hand, the effects of different parameters (such as the catalyst mass (TiO2 Degussa P-25), stirring speed (RPM), UV lamps, and temperature) over the photocatalysis reaction rate were analyzed. Also, the reaction's thermodynamic parameters were determined and found to be similar to those found in other investigations. Finally, the homogeneity in the distribution of TiO2 particles inside the reactor when stirred at 475 rpm was verified using a COMSOL Multiphysics computer fluid dynamics simulation, which showed the theoretical trajectory of particles inside the reactor depending on the stirring rate of the reactor.