Joseph J. Sangiovanni

Computational and Experimental Studies of UV/Titania Photocatalytic Oxidation of VOCs in Honeycomb Monoliths

Abstract The use of honeycombs as monolith supports for UV/Titania photocatalysis of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) has been investigated theoretically and experimentally. A theoretical model based on analysis of the UV intensity distribution, transport of gaseous contaminants to the catalyzed surface, and surface photocatalytic destruction has been developed. Both diffuse and specular reflection models have been developed for the UV illumination calculations. The model uses measured intrinsic photocatalytic destruction rates determined in a research reactor which gives the concentration-, humidity-, and UV intensity-dependences of the rates. Model predictions have been compared to measurements in a high-flow, staged monolith, demonstration purifier for several gaseous contaminants of interest. Agreement between modeling and experiment is generally quite good. The sensitivity of purifier efficiency to monolith pore size and illuminated contact time is discussed. The performance obtained with honeycombs is comparable to that with porous foams, but with much reduced weight, pressure drop, and cost. The conclusion of this research is that honeycomb monoliths are attractive for use in practical UV/Titania photocatalytic devices, particularly at very high flow rates where pressure drop is a concern, and for those situations where monolith weight is an important design constraint.