High-radiance LED-driven fluidized bed photoreactor for the complete oxidation of n-hexane in air

Abstract

This work presents a highly efficient photo-reactor configuration for VOC abatement. It consists of a fluidized bed made of commercial, easy to fluidize, transparent borosilicate glass beads coated with commercial TiO2 nanoparticles (0.15–2.3 wt% loadings). Herein, we demonstrate that the use of high-radiance/low consumption UV-LEDs as irradiation sources with a deeper light penetration under fluidizing conditions facilitates the photocatalytic response to achieve the complete oxidation of VOCs. The role of different parameters such as catalyst loading and irradiation power have been thoroughly studied and evaluated to maximize the full combustion of n-hexane. Under the high radiance (up to 2200 mW/cm2) conditions used the bed heats significantly (up to 190 °C), although this did not have an effect on the conversions reached, which depended solely on the wavelength and power used. The productivity of the photoreactor tested and the space velocity used were around 5.25 × 10−2 mol/g·h and 12000 h−1 respectively.