Vol.:(0123456789)
Topics in Current Chemistry (2019) 377:22
https://doi.org/10.1007/s41061-019-0247-2
1 3
REVIEW
Photocatalytic Reactor Modeling: Application to Advanced
Oxidation Processes for Chemical Pollution Abatement
María de los Milagros Ballari
1
· María Lucila Satuf
1
· Orlando M. Alfano
1
Received: 3 June 2019 / Accepted: 3 August 2019 / Published online: 23 August 2019
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019
Abstract
A methodology for photocatalytic reactor modeling applied to advanced oxidation
processes for chemical pollution abatement is presented herein. Three distinct reactor configurations typically employed in the field of air and water purification—wall
reactors, slurry reactors, and fixed-bed reactors—are considered to illustrate the
suggested approach. Initially, different mechanistically derived kinetic expressions
to represent the photocatalytic rate of pollutant degradation are reviewed, indicating the main assumptions made by the authors in the published contributions. These
kinetic expressions are needed to solve the mass balances of the reactant species in
the photocatalytic reactors. As is well known, at least one of the steps of the reaction mechanism requires evaluation of the rate of electron–hole generation, which
depends on the photon absorption rate: a volumetric property for reactions with the
catalyst particles in aqueous suspension or a surface property for systems with a
fixed catalyst deposited on an inert support. Subsequently, the different techniques
for evaluating the optical properties of slurry and immobilized systems, and the
numerical methods applied to calculate the photon absorption rate, are described.
The experimental and theoretical results of pollutant degradation in each reactor
type are then presented and analyzed. Finally, the definition, calculation, and relevance of different efficiency parameters are briefly reviewed. Using these illustrative
examples, we emphasize the need for a systematic and rigorous approach for photocatalytic reactor modeling in order to overcome the inherent drawbacks of photocatalysis and to improve the overall efficiency of the process.
Keywords Photocatalysis · Modeling · Photon absorption · Wall reactor · Slurry
reactor · Fixed-bed reactor
* Orlando M. Alfano
alfano@intec.unl.edu.ar
1
Instituto de Desarrollo Tecnológico para la Industria Química, INTEC (Universidad Nacional
del Litoral and CONICET), Ruta Nacional Nº 168, 3000 Santa Fe, Argentina
265
Reprinted from the journal
Chapter 8 was originally published as Ballari, M. M., Satuf, M. L. & Alfano, O. M. Topics in Current
Chemistry (2019) 377: 22. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41061-019-0247-2.
Topics in Current Chemistry (2019) 377:22
https://doi.org/10.1007/s41061-019-0247-2
1 3
REVIEW
Photocatalytic Reactor Modeling: Application to Advanced
Oxidation Processes for Chemical Pollution Abatement
María de los Milagros Ballari
1
· María Lucila Satuf
1
· Orlando M. Alfano
1
Received: 3 June 2019 / Accepted: 3 August 2019 / Published online: 23 August 2019
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019
Abstract
A methodology for photocatalytic reactor modeling applied to advanced oxidation
processes for chemical pollution abatement is presented herein. Three distinct reactor configurations typically employed in the field of air and water purification—wall
reactors, slurry reactors, and fixed-bed reactors—are considered to illustrate the
suggested approach. Initially, different mechanistically derived kinetic expressions
to represent the photocatalytic rate of pollutant degradation are reviewed, indicating the main assumptions made by the authors in the published contributions. These
kinetic expressions are needed to solve the mass balances of the reactant species in
the photocatalytic reactors. As is well known, at least one of the steps of the reaction mechanism requires evaluation of the rate of electron–hole generation, which
depends on the photon absorption rate: a volumetric property for reactions with the
catalyst particles in aqueous suspension or a surface property for systems with a
fixed catalyst deposited on an inert support. Subsequently, the different techniques
for evaluating the optical properties of slurry and immobilized systems, and the
numerical methods applied to calculate the photon absorption rate, are described.
The experimental and theoretical results of pollutant degradation in each reactor
type are then presented and analyzed. Finally, the definition, calculation, and relevance of different efficiency parameters are briefly reviewed. Using these illustrative
examples, we emphasize the need for a systematic and rigorous approach for photocatalytic reactor modeling in order to overcome the inherent drawbacks of photocatalysis and to improve the overall efficiency of the process.
Keywords Photocatalysis · Modeling · Photon absorption · Wall reactor · Slurry
reactor · Fixed-bed reactor
* Orlando M. Alfano
alfano@intec.unl.edu.ar
1
Instituto de Desarrollo Tecnológico para la Industria Química, INTEC (Universidad Nacional
del Litoral and CONICET), Ruta Nacional Nº 168, 3000 Santa Fe, Argentina
265
Reprinted from the journal
Chapter 8 was originally published as Ballari, M. M., Satuf, M. L. & Alfano, O. M. Topics in Current
Chemistry (2019) 377: 22. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41061-019-0247-2.