Design and evaluation of a compact photocatalytic reactor for water treatment

A compact reactor for photocatalytic oxidation and photocatalytic ozonation water treatment was developed and evaluated by using four model pollutants. Additionally, combinations of pollutants were evaluated. Specially produced Al₂O₃ porous reticulated monolith foams served as TiO₂ carriers, offering a high surface area support. UV lamps were placed in the interior to achieve reduced dimensions of the reactor (12 cm in diameter × 20 cm in height). Despite its small size, the overall photocatalytic cleaning capacity was substantial. It was evaluated by measuring the degradation of LAS + PBIS and RB19 as representatives of surfactants and textile dyes, respectively. These contaminants are commonly found in household grey wastewater with phenol as a trace contaminant. Three different commercial photocatalysts and one mixture of photocatalysts (P25, P90, PC500 and P25 + PC500) were introduced in the sol-gel processing and immobilized on foamed Al₂O₃ monoliths. RB19 and phenol were easily degradable, while LAS and PBIS were more resistant. The experiments were conducted at neutral-acidic pH because alkaline pH negatively influences both photocatalyic ozonation (PCOZ) and photocatalysis. The synergistic effect of PCOZ was generally much more expressed in mineralization reactions. Total organic carbon TOC half lives were in the range of between 13 and 43 min in the case of individual pollutants in double-deionized water. However, for the mixed pollutants in tap water, the TOC half-life only increased to 53 min with the most efficient catalyst (P90). In comparison to photocatalysis, the PCOZ process is more suitable for treating wastewater with a high loading of organic pollutants due to its higher cleaning capacity. Therefore, PCOZ may prove more effective in industrial applications.