Photocatalytic degradation of two volatile fatty acids in monocomponent and multicomponent systems: Comparison between batch and annular photoreactors

This study investigates the influence of the inlet concentrations on the degradation rates of a binary mixture of volatile fatty acids (propionic and butyric acids). TiO2-coated non-woven fibre textile was used as the photocatalyst in a batch reactor and in an annular reactor at laminar flow regime. The humidity level, temperature, UV intensity and flow rate were kept constant. First, the adsorption isotherms were determined and these showed that the propionic acid is less adsorbed than the butyric acid onto the catalyst. Conversely to the adsorption, the photodegradation of pure propionic acid is better than the degradation of pure butyric acid. Photodegradation is greatly inhibited when the two acids are mixed in comparison to the pure compounds. The propionic acid is more affected. This inhibition is attributed to the competitive adsorption of the two species on the active sites of the catalyst. A model which takes into account the competitive adsorption is proposed in order to determine the outlet concentrations of the compounds knowing the inlet concentrations in the annular reactor.