CFD investigation of a multi-tube photocatalytic reactor in non-steady-state conditions

A novel multi-tube photoreactor is presented with a high efficiency (over 90% conversion) toward the degradation of acetaldehyde in air under UV conditions with an incident intensity of 2.1 mW cm(-2). A CFD model was developed to simulate the transient adsorption and photocatalytic degradation processes of acetaldehyde in this reactor design and to estimate the corresponding kinetic parameters through an optimization routine using the experimentally determined outlet concentration profiles. The CFD model takes into account the entire reactor geometry and all relevant flow parameters, in contrast to analytical methods that often oversimplify the physical and chemical process characteristics. Using CFD, we show that both adsorption and desorption rate constants increase by respectively one and two orders of magnitude when the UV light is switched on, which clearly affects the transient behavior. The agreement of the experimental and modelled concentration profiles is excellent as evidenced by a coefficient of determination of at least 0.965. To demonstrate the reliability and accuracy of all parameters obtained from the modelling approach, an ultimate validation test was performed using other conditions than the ones used for estimating the kinetic parameters. The model was able to accurately simulate simultaneous adsorption, desorption and photocatalytic degradation. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.