Removal of gas-phase benzene in an immobilized photocatalytic reactor

Abstract

The photocatalytic degradation of gas-phase benzene was studied in an immobilized – annular tube reactor using titanium dioxide as the photocatalyst. The main and interaction effects due to the influence of essential process parameters such as catalyst load (5 to 20 g·m–2), benzene concentration (0.2 – 3.1 g·m–3) and flow rate (0.2 to 1 l·min–1 corresponding to residence times of 14 s and 70 s respectively) on the removal of benzene were investigated, by carrying out experiments that were designed to express statistical significance. The main effects plot and Pareto plot provided good insight into the effect of different parameters on the removal of gas-phase benzene. A new, statistical measurement suggests that low gas–phase benzene concentration is more important for maintaining high removal efficiencies (96 %) in the photocatalytic reactor than both catalyst load and flow rate.