An internally illuminated monolith reactor: Pros and cons relative to a slurry reactor

In the present study, kinetic models for the photo-oxidation of cyclohexane in two different photoreactor systems are discussed: a top illumination reactor (TIR) representative of a slurry reactor, and the so-called internally illuminated monolith reactor (IIMR) representing a reactor containing immobilized catalyst. Results show that the models considered for both reactors predict the experimental values well. The IIMR is shown to be a better design in terms of light delivery at the catalyst surface. For the same photon power (Einst s−1) the IIMR will perform at lower photon irradiance (Einst m−2 s−1) since the area exposed to the light is higher. It will be shown that the catalyst can thus be used more efficiently in the IIMR.