Abstract
Photocatalysis with irradiation of a vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) lamp (VUV-PCO) was used to remove toluene in air. Two parallel reactions with irradiation of a 254 nm lamp (254 nm-PCO) and without TiO2 (i.e., VUV photolysis) were conducted for comparison. The influencing factors of relative humidity, initial toluene concentration, and air flow rate were investigated. The results showed that VUV-PCO achieved much higher toluene removal efficiency and better PCO durability than 254 nm-PCO under different operating conditions. 82.3% toluene conversion was obtained with 1.8 ppm outlet O3 concentration in the former, but only 14.5% with 30 ppm outlet concentration of O3 was obtained in the latter under the conditions of 1% humidity, 50 ppm initial toluene concentration, and 1 L/min flow rate. Energetic photons from the VUV lamp could efficiently destruct toluene directly. O3 formed from VUV irradiation of O2 enhanced the toluene abatement by catalytic ozonation and inhibited the recombination of electron/hole pairs and deactivation of the photocatalyst. VUV-PCO could simultaneously overcome the limitations of the conventional PCO process. It is a promising technology for toluene abatement.
Published Version
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call