Photo-Fenton enhanced twin-reactor for simultaneously hydrogen separation and organic wastewater degradation

This research investigated photo-Fenton enhanced in a twin-reactor for hydrogen evolution and wastewater photodegradation simultaneously. The twin-reactor, which was two coupled reactors divided by a membrane, can simultaneously photodegrade isopropanol wastewater and separate hydrogen from water splitting. Fe2+/Fe3+ pair was used as electron mediator in the twin reactor by counter-diffusing between hydrogen and photodegradation sides. Moreover, Fe3+ also triggered photo-Fenton reaction to enhance the degradation of organic wastewater. SrTiO3:Rh, Pt/SrTiO3:Rh and Ru/SrTiO3:Rh were used for hydrogen evolution. For isopropanol degradation, P25 (TiO2) and WO3 were applied. The light source was simulated sunlight using 300 W Xe lamps with AM1.5 filter. Compared with the single reactor, the isopropanol removal increased 125% and hydrogen evolution was up 37% due to H-2 separation and inhibition of reverse reaction of water splitting. In the twin reactor, 95% of pure hydrogen was obtained in the hydrogen evolution side, thus saved the cost of afterward purification.

Automated summary

The research focused on using a twin-reactor system with photo-Fenton technology to simultaneously produce hydrogen and degrade wastewater. By utilizing the Fe2+/Fe3+ pair for electron mediation and different catalysts, the system achieved higher hydrogen production and organic wastewater degradation efficiency.