Coupled Transport Phenomena in Corrugated Photocatalytic Reactors

Corrugated reactors are known for their use in applications requiring UV-exposure, whereby media flowing within the corrugated channel react with a photo-active catalyst impregnated on the surface (i.e. TiO2). The performance in these systems is dependent on catalyst properties and reactivity for a given light source, in conjunction with the coupled transport of reactants within the media and photons falling incident to the catalyst surface. Experimental and computational analyses of local mass transfer and radiation patterns for a broad range of corrugation angles, depths, and non-idealities introduced during manufacture (i.e. fold curvature) are thus integrated to the design and optimization of these systems. This work explores techniques for determining incident energy distributions on the surface of corrugated reactor geometries with non-ideal cross-sectional profiles, and the local and overall mass transfer rates obtained using computational fluid dynamics and experimental analysis. By examining the reaction kinetics for the photo-degradation of 4-chlorophenol over a TiO2 catalyst, the effects of surface area, energy incidence with photon recapture, and local mass transfer on overall reactor performance are presented to highlight optimization concerns for these types of reactors.