Ozone-assisted degradation of 2-methoxyethanol in a prototype plug flow photocatalytic reactor

Abstract

Airborne volatile organic compounds (VOCs) present an increasingly relevant health hazard addressed by the EU directive 2016/2284 requiring 40-% reduction in emissions of non-methane VOCs by 2030 in comparison to 2005. Advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) provide a solution for the VOC problem in industry. Among AOPs, pulsed corona discharge (PCD) and photocatalytic oxidation (PCO) are of particular interest in their synergy complementing each other’s strengths in energy-efficient manner. In the present study, air polluted with 2-methoxyethanol (2ME) was treated by using a prototype 21.3 L photocatalytic reactor for the pollutant degradation at its variable concentrations (6–50 ppm), irradiances (65–119 W m−2) and residence times (12–77 sec). Further combination of PCO reactor with forthcoming PCD requires studies in ozone photocatalytic degradation as a standalone byproduct and in combination with 2ME. The analysis of variable conditions resulted in singling out the PCO major restrictive parameters, also demonstrating the degradation enhancement, when both 2ME and ozone were present in air. The PCO treatment combined with ozone resulted in degradation of 2ME and ozone for 40 % and 95 %, respectively.