Development and performance of a fluence rate distribution model for a cylindrical excimer lamp

Ultraviolet disinfection systems employing excimer lamp technology represent a suitable choice in situations where lamp mercury content is restricted, or otherwise undesirable. The XeBr* excimer lamp emits nearly monochromatic radiation at 282 nm, and dose-response experiments with Bacillus subtilis spores have shown that it is germicidally effective. A numerical model was developed to describe the fluence rate (E') distribution emanating from a cylindrical XeBr* excimer lamp, based on liquid water or air as the surrounding medium. The E' distribution model is based on physical phenomena that are known to govern excimer lamps; the model also accounts for refraction, reflection, and absorbance effects of the quartz lamp envelope and the media surrounding the lamp. Measurements of the E' distribution by local actinometry supported the validity of the numerical model. This model can be used as a component (submodel) of a more general model to simulate the behavior of photochemical reactors that employ excimer lamps as their source of electromagnetic radiation.