Photocatalytic Reactor Research Articles

3D printed photocatalytic reactor for air purification

A 3D printed plastic sinusoidal reactor with a 3D printed photocatalytic lining is prepared and used to purify air, containing the test pollutants, NO2, NO, acetaldehyde and ozone. This 3D printed, air-purifying photocatalytic reactor, 3D APPR, is first UVA pre-conditioned (168 h, 1.5 mW cm−2), to render its P25 TiO2 containing photocatalytic lining active, through the destruction of the thin layer of polymer that covers the photocatalytic particles at, or near, to the surface. When testing for pollution removal, unless stated otherwise, the typical reaction conditions are, [pollutant] = ca. 1000 ppb, flow rate = 0.26 L min−1, relative humidity = 50%, UVA irradiance (352 nm) 1 mW cm−2 and irradiation time, t, = 5 h. Under these conditions the 3D APPR removes 27% of the NO2, 25.3% of the NO, but simultaneously generates 17.3% NO2 so %NOx removed is only ca. 8%. With acetaldehyde, [pollutant] = ca. 5000 ppb; 3 h irradiation, 34.2% is removed. Finally, with ozone, [pollutant] = ca. 420 ppb; 1 h irradiation; 2.8 mW cm−2 368 nm, 99% is removed. Indeed, the latter process is so effective that the small amount (47 μW cm−2) of UV in cool white fluorescent tubes is able to effect the removal of 70 % of the ozone. In all cases, the 3D APPR is more effective at removing the test pollutant than Activ™ self-cleaning glass, even though the latter has nearly 3 times the irradiated surface area and over 12 times the residence time. Long term (5 day) irradiations of the same systems produces very similar, if not enhanced, % removal values for all the pollutants tested. The potential of this type of disposable, plastic film photocatalytic reactor, made using a biodegradable plastic, polylactic acid, PLA, is discussed briefly.

The study on the effect of hydrodynamic flow on the photocatalytic performance of photocatalytic reactors.

The scalability of photocatalytic reactor is the major challenge due to the inability of the light penetration when the laboratory scale reactors are ascended. It is well known that the characteristic length of photocatalytic reactor is one of the influential parameters determining the efficiency of light penetration and also affects the hydrodynamic fluid flow behaviour inside the reactor. This study visualizes hydrodynamic flow behaviour of three differently configured photocatalytic reactors through numerical simulation of the fluid mass transport inside the reactors. The three photocatalytic reactors are (1) concentric cylindrical glass tube micro-reactor (CGTR), (2) UV-LED strip photocatalytic reactor (STR) and (3) classical annular reactor (CAR) from our previous work. The simulations of flow behaviour confirmed that CGTR exhibited plug flow regime, STR exhibited arbitrary flow (in-between continuously stirred tank reactor and plug flow reactor) and CAR behaved like continuously stirred tank reactor. Also, interpretations of numerical modelling were validated through plotting experimental residence time distribution curve. Furthermore, the comparison of performance parameters revealed that the highest modified space time yield (STYmodified) 225s-1and highest modified photocatalytic space time yield (PSTYmodified) 9.375s-1/kW/m3 was obtained for plug flow reactor when compared to continuously stirred tank reactor (CAR) and arbitrary flow reactor (STR). The study confirms that decrease in characteristic length of photocatalytic reactor onsets plug flow regime, which has highest photocatalytic performance efficiency.

Reactive seeding growth of cobalt-doped MIL-88B(Fe) on Al2O3 membrane for phenol removal in a photocatalytic membrane reactor

In this study, cobalt-doped MIL-88B(Fe) (xCoMIL-88B(Fe)) was successfully synthesized and grown on an Al2O3 support. The cobalt doping of MIL-88(Fe) not only enhanced its visible-light absorption but also improved free electron–hole pair separation. On adding peroxymonosulfate (PMS), 5CoMIL-88B(Fe) powder demonstrated superior photocatalytic phenol removal than that without the PMS or catalyst. The reactive seeding growth of cobalt-doped MIL-88B(Fe) was employed to prepare a 5CoMIL-88B(Fe) membrane coupled with a filtration module to produce a photocatalytic membrane reactor (PMR). The permeate flux of the photocatalytic membrane reactor (PMR) was approximately 2900–4000 L m−2 h−1 bar−1 (LMH), which demonstrated over 90% phenol removal efficiency and exhibited high stability, reusability, recyclability, and high photocatalytic activity for phenol degradation over 10 cycles utilizing 5CoMIL-88B(Fe)@Al2O3 membrane with PMS. This is the first study to demonstrate a cobalt-doped MIL-88B(Fe) membrane through the reactive seeding method for a PMR system, which is an effective and sustainable process for wastewater treatment.

Numerical Simulation of Energy and Mass Transfer in a Magnetic Stirring Photocatalytic Reactor

Hydrogen production via photocatalytic water splitting is one of the promising solutions to energy and environmental issues. Understanding the relationship between hydrogen production in suspended photocatalytic reactions and various influencing factors is crucial for expanding the scale of the system. However, the complexity of physical and chemical factors involved in hydrogen production via photocatalytic water splitting makes systematic research of this technology challenging. In recent research, the simulated light source reactor has become a preferred study object due to its strong controllability. This paper presents a comprehensive energy and mass transfer model for the suspended photocatalytic reaction in a magnetically stirred reactor. The mutual impacts between the flow field, radiation field, and reaction field are analyzed. The simulation results show that the rotating speed of the stirring magneton in the reactor has a significant influence on the flow field. The rotation of the stirring magneton generates a vortex in the central axis area of the reactor, with the relationship between the depth of the vortex f(s) and the rotating speed of the magneton s described as f(s) = 0.27e0.0032s. The distribution of radiation within the reactor is influenced by both the incident radiation intensity and the concentration of the catalyst. The relationship between the penetration depth of radiation g(i) and the incident radiation intensity i is described as g(i) = 10.73ln(i) − 49.59. The relationship between the penetration depth of radiation h(c) and the particle concentration c is given as h(c) = −16.38ln(c) + 15.01. The radiation distribution in the reactor has a substantial impact on hydrogen production, which affects the concentration distribution law of hydrogen. The total amounts of hydrogen generated in the reactor are 1.04 × 10−3 mol and 1.35 × 10−3 mol when the reaction times are 1.0 s and 2.0 s, respectively. This study serves as a foundation for the future scaling of the system and offers theoretical guidance for the optimization of the photocatalytic reactor design and operating conditions.

An Overview of Photocatalytic Membrane Degradation Development.

Environmental pollution has become a worldwide issue. Rapid industrial and agricultural practices have increased organic contaminants in water supplies. Hence, many strategies have been developed to address this concern. In order to supply clean water for various applications, high-performance treatment technology is required to effectively remove organic and inorganic contaminants. Utilizing photocatalytic membrane reactors (PMRs) has shown promise as a viable alternative process in the water and wastewater industry due to its efficiency, low cost, simplicity, and low environmental impact. PMRs are commonly categorized into two main categories: those with the photocatalyst suspended in solution and those with the photocatalyst immobilized in/on a membrane. Herein, the working and fouling mechanisms in PMRs membranes are investigated; the interplay of fouling and photocatalytic activity and the development of fouling prevention strategies are elucidated; and the significance of photocatalysis in membrane fouling mechanisms such as pore plugging and cake layering is thoroughly explored.

Simultaneous removal of sulfamethoxazole, 17β-estradiol, and carbamazepine from hospital wastewater using a combination of a continuous constructed wetland-based system followed by photocatalytic reactor

Pharmaceutically active compounds (PhACs), such as sulfamethoxazole, 17β-estradiol, and carbamazepine, are ubiquitous in hospital effluent and are resistant to conventional treatment methods. Advanced oxidation techniques like photocatalysis can degrade these compounds, but their performance in continuous mode and real wastewater matrix is inadequate. Hence, this study uses an iron-modified aluminum-doped ZnO (Al-ZnO/Fe) photocatalyst to degrade sulfamethoxazole, carbamazepine, and 17β-estradiol simultaneously. Batch studies indicated that at pH 8 and 0.5 g/L of photocatalyst, removal efficiencies of sulfamethoxazole, 17β-estradiol, and carbamazepine were 98.93 ± 0.27%, 98.28 ± 0.35%, and 98.31 ± 0.57%, respectively. The toxicity of the intermediate products formed and potential application of the spent photocatalyst was also studied. However, removal of PhACs was decreased when the conditions were replicated in the continuous mode. Moreover, their removal in tap water and real hospital wastewater was further reduced. The presence of inhibiting agents in real wastewater attributed to the decrease in PhACs removal. In this context, a continuous baffled horizontal flow subsurface constructed wetland-based system followed by the photocatalytic reactor was used to treat hospital wastewater spiked with sulfamethoxazole, 17β-estradiol, and carbamazepine, and the removal efficiencies were found to be 97.16 ± 1.85%, 98.09 ± 0.92%, and 96.02 ± 2.27%, respectively.

Solar photocatalytic hydrogen production from pulp and paper wastewater

The solar photocatalytic degradation of pulp and paper mill wastewater has been reported by several scientists. However, this is the first time we are reporting for solar photocatalytic hydrogen production from pulp and paper mill wastewater and simultaneous degradation of pollutants. In this work, CuO based photocatalysts and novel square type photocatalytic reactor of 5 L capacity were used. The result shows that the prepared photocatalysts are solar active, efficient in hydrogen recovery and pollutant degradation from the pulp and paper wastewater. The effects of catalyst loading, sacrificial agent, pollutant removal efficiency and stability check were investigated. At 0.25 g/L of CuO/Fe2O3, 0.2 M of sacrificial agent (Na2SO32−) and hydrogen yield of 1000 mL from 1000 mL of wastewater was achieved. The removal efficiency of TSS, TDS, BOD, COD, turbidity and TOC are around 70, 50, 60, 65, 70 and 45% respectively. Reusability study revealed that CuO/Fe2O3 was chemically stable and could be reused successively (five cycles) without significant changes in its photoactivity and intrinsic properties.

Polymer-based TiO2 membranes: An efficient route for recalcitrant dye degradation

Methyl orange (MO) is a poisonous, carcinogenic, and genotoxic azo dye with high chemical stability, high solubility in water, and very low biodegradability. The removal is difficult by conventional water purification methods. The degradation of MO with photocatalytic membrane reactors loaded with TiO2 nanoparticles(NPs) is reported in some publications, and the degradation efficiency is less than 50%. The present study presents the use of titanium dioxide nanoparticles deposited on the surface of nanofiltration membranes to assess the photocatalytic degradation of reactive dye. The morphological analyses showed the presence of a thin titanium dioxide layer on the surface of the membranes. In addition, the photocatalytic membranes with 0.25 wt% of TiO2 showed an interesting photocatalytic activity over four hours, with 82.3% of the MO degraded. The degradation followed a pseudo-second-order kinetics model, and the reusability of the prepared membranes was also verified.

Modelling and analysis of hydrodynamics and flow phenomena of fluid with formic acid as pollutant in the reactive area of a flat plate photocatalytic reactor with top and bottom turbulence promote

The inadequate mixing of pollutant and its low mass transfer in the reactive surface reduces the efficiency of photocatalytic reactor. A computational model is developed, and numerical analysis is conducted to examine the effect of top and bottom baffles on the mass transfer and hydrodynamic performance of the reactor compared to reactor without baffle in this study. The hydrodynamic flow phenomena such as local streamlines, velocity, turbulence characteristic, pressure-drops, and wall shear stress were investigated. The experiment was done in a lab-scale flat-plate photocatalytic reactor using Formic Acid as pollutant in feed water for model validation. The FA concentration versus feed flow rate and velocity as a function of time showed good agreement between simulation and experimental results (only about 5 % variation). From the simulation, it was found that the pressure drops increase with increase in baffle height and the lowest was found to be 0.1 kPa and 0.4 kPa when the baffle height was 5 mm at velocity of 0.15 m/s and 0.5 m/s respectively. The highest turbulent kinetic energy and the dissipation was found 0.215 m2/s2 and 46 m2/s3 respectively when the baffle height was 12 mm in the present simulation. Baffles significantly changes the hydrodynamic performance such as turbulence, velocity, mass of pollutant and the pressure drops. The velocity magnitude also increases and the highest was found to be 9.2 times of the free stream velocity when 12 mm top baffle was used. Similar trends were found for bottom baffles. The highest magnitude of turbulent kinetic energy was found to be four times higher than the plain reactor without baffle. Therefore, baffle will significantly promote turbulence and improve the hydrodynamic performance thus enhance the photocatalytic rector performance.

UV-LED silicon carbide composite photocatalytic membrane reactor for the degradation of organic contaminants

The utilization of membranes in the water industry has been growing rapidly; however, the technology still experiences problems with fouling. A potential solution is to immobilize photocatalyst particles on the surface of the membranes to encourage in situ degradation of the organic contaminants contributing to the fouling. In this study, we developed a photocatalytic membrane (PM) by coating a silicon carbide membrane with Zr/TiO2 sol. The performance of the PM in degrading different concentrations of humic acid was evaluated comparatively under UV irradiation of two wavelengths, 275 and 365 nm. The results indicated that (i) the PM achieved high levels of humic acid degradation, (ii) the photocatalytic activity of the PM reduced the formation of fouling and hence the loss of permeability, (iii) the formation of fouling was reversible; no trace of fouling was observed after cleaning, and (iv) the PM showed high durability during multiple rounds of operation.

Examination of Electronically Mismatched Diels-Alder Reaction by Online Mass Spectrometry.

Electronically mismatched Diels-Alder reactions have gained much interests as an alternative pathway for C-C bond formation. To faciliate the development of facile organic transformations, mechanistic investigations are required. Spectroscopic methods (NMR, EPR and UV-Vis) are normally adopted for mechainism examinations, but further improvements on direct obtaining of structural information of short-lived intermediates are encouraged. Herein, an electronically mismatched Diels-Alder reaction between indole and 1,3-cyclohexadiene (1,3-CHD) was studied by an in situ electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (in-situ MS). Based on the direct sampling and detection of the in-situ MS without sample pre-treatment, the structures and dynamics of important intermediates were on-line examined. A syringe-based photocatalytic reactor and in-situ AMS evaluation system was constructed for mechanism studies. The role of oxygen was confirmed via control reaction employed in the N2 -bubbled system. The stepwise cation radical-based pathway and the [2+2] cycloaddition process were determined through a series of experiments, including solvent evaluation, MS/MS experiments and dynamic monitoring. The dependence of the reaction on solvent polarity demonstrated that the reaction occurs via the formation of cation radicals, which were captured, identified and dynamically monitored via in situ ESI MS. Without pre-separation, the intermediate of [2+2] cycloaddition was identifiedand the cycloaddition process is thereby determined to be the combination of [4+2] cycloaddition and [2+2] cycloaddition. In addition, oxygen was proved to act as an electron mediator for both catalyst Ru (bpz)3 (PF6 )2 and radical cations. The mechanism of electronically mismatched Diels-Alder reaction was successfully deduced by in-situ MS associated with a syringe-based photocatalytic reactor. The structures and dynamics of cation radicals, the effect of O2 for the reaction and the detailed process of [2+2] cycloaddition have been well demonstrated. This work could not only promote the understanding and development of facile photocatalytic transformations, but also enlarge the application of AMS in on-line monitoring.

Photocatalytic Membrane Reactor Utilizing Immobile Photocatalytic Active Layer on Membranes for the Removal of Micropollutants

Photocatalytic Membrane Reactor Utilizing Immobile Photocatalytic Active Layer on Membranes for the Removal of Micropollutants

ZnO NRs/rGO Photocatalyst in a Polymer-Based Microfluidic Platform.

This paper reports the development of ZnO NRs/rGO-based photocatalysts integrated into a tree-branched polymer-based microfluidic reactor for efficient photodegradation of water contaminants. The reactor system includes a photocatalytic reactor, tree-branched microfluidic channels, and ZnO nanorods (NRs) coated with reduced graphene oxide (rGO) on a glass substrate within an area of 0.6 × 0.6 cm2. The ZnO NRs/rGO acts as a photocatalyst layer grown hydrothermally and then spray-coated with rGO. The microfluidic system is made of PDMS and fabricated using soft lithography (micro molding using SU-8 master mold patterned on a silicon wafer). The device geometry is designed using AutoCAD software and the flow properties of the microfluidics are simulated using COMSOL Multiphysics. The microfluidic platform's photocatalytic process aims to bring the nanostructured photocatalyst into very close proximity to the water flow channel, reducing the interaction time and providing effective purification performance. Our functionality test showed that a degradation efficiency of 23.12 %, within the effective residence time of less than 3 s was obtained.

Optimization Study on Synergistic System of Photocatalytic Degradation of AR 26 and UV-LED Heat Dissipation

In this work, a novel UV-LED/TiO2 photocatalytic system, having a single layer with ten LED beads, was designed to simultaneously achieve UV-LED cooling and wastewater degradation, to deal with heat dissipation problems of high-power UV-LEDs. To gain more insight into this system, the parameters affecting both cooling and photocatalytic performance were first optimized using AR 26 as a basis. With respect to sewage, sewage with a flow rate of 80 mL/min and a temperature of 20 °C helped to keep a lower temperature of UV-LED, which benefits the long-term operation stability of LED beads. For parameters affecting the photocatalytic performance only, the experiments showed that TiO2 with moderate dosing (0.75 g/L) under strong acid conditions (pH = 2) helped to further improve photocatalytic activity when the initial concentration of AR 26 was 45 mg/L. Lastly, to illustrate the advantages of this novel system, the performance of the synergistic system was compared with a conventional photocatalytic reactor with respect to degradation performance, optical quantum efficiency, and energy consumption. The results showed that the degradation efficiency and light source utilization ratio of this coupled system were, respectively, 2.1 times and 1.5 times as much as those of a conventional reactor. As the unit power consumption of the synergistic system was only 0.18-fold more than that of a conventional reactor, our work suggests that this synergistic system with the advantage of LED lamp beads has a bright future in dealing with refractory organic pollutants of sewage.

Efficient degradation of atrazine from synthetic water through photocatalytic activity supported by titanium dioxide nanoparticles

Abstract The oxidation of atrazine herbicide from water was performed by using titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles synthesized via the sol-gel method. A batch-scale photocatalytic reactor was designed for experimental work. The process was monitored using a UV–visible spectrophotometer. Operational parameters such as catalyst loading and pollutant concentration were investigated. The X-ray diffraction confirmed the anatase phase and high purity of the synthesized particles. Fourier transform infrared showed the functional group of titanium (Ti–O–Ti). The morphology of synthesized nanoparticles was characterized by scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy, which exhibited the irregular shape of nanoparticles along with aggregations. The average size of TiO2 was found to be 56.92 nm as measured from dynamic light scattering analysis. UV–visible spectrometry showed an absorbance of 0.13 (<1). The nanoparticles displayed UV light-responsive catalytic ability with a bandgap energy of 3.14 eV. Furthermore, atrazine was discovered using mass spectrometry, which revealed a clear and sharp peak at 173, 95, and 76 m/z, respectively, at collision energies of 16 and 24 eV. The photocatalytic activity of the TiO2 nanoparticles was examined for the degradation of atrazine. Overall, the obtained results displayed the great efficiency of TiO2 nanoparticles towards ultra-violet light, which was 92.56% at 100 mg of dosages, highlighting the great potential of the photocatalysis process for atrazine degradation. Furthermore, the process followed pseudo-first-order kinetics and the rate was seen to depend on catalyst loading.

Radiation Models for Computational Fluid Dynamics Simulations of Photocatalytic Reactors

AbstractThe literature on computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations applied to photocatalytic systems is reviewed. CFD simulations referring to three models, namely, P‐1, discrete ordinates (DO), and Monte Carlo (MC) models, for simulating radiation distribution in annular photoreactors are addressed and previous works using these models are reviewed. The cases are a three‐dimensional (3D) annular photoreactor and a two‐dimensional (2D) rectangular enclosure with black walls and the results are compared with the literature. The DO model was selected to solve the radiation transfer equation (RTE) as the most reliable model to fit the radiation distribution inside the reactor. The setting‐up of mesh, angular discretization, and boundary conditions for CFD simulation of photocatalytic reactors are addressed. When correctly set, the CFD models show an excellent agreement with the literature results.

Ag@BiOBr/PVDF photocatalytic membrane for remarkable BSA anti-fouling performance and insight of mechanism

Membrane technologies offer great potential in desalination and wastewater treatment. However, the serious issue of membrane fouling results in the unsatisfactory sustainability and reusability for treating wastewater containing high level of organic foulants. In this work, a photocatalytic membrane reactor system combining Ag@BiOBr photocatalyst and polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) ultrafiltration with remarkable anti-fouling property was constructed. The integrated Ag@BiOBr/PVDF photocatalytic ultrafiltration membranes were prepared by blending Ag@BiOBr nanoparticles (NPs) into PVDF membrane via phase inversion method. The membrane separation performance and fouling resistance were studied in a cross-flow ultrafiltration system using bovine serum albumin (BSA) as the model foulants. Compared with the pristine PVDF membrane, the hydrophilicity and surface smoothness of composite membranes were promoted by photocatalyst-incorporation, the Ag@BiOBr/PVDF membrane with the optimal Ag@BiOBr blending content of 2.0 wt% achieved both enhanced water flux and higher BSA rejection efficiency. More importantly, the mechanism of anti-fouling and self-cleaning performances were further studied, the photocatalysis process based on Ag@BiOBr/PVDF membrane effectively decomposed the BSA foulant into broken protein with induced change of carbonyl, ionic bond and hydrogen bond contents in BSA foulants via the active radicals, weakened the intermolecular force of BSA foulants to prevent membrane pore blockage. Meanwhile, the broken protein peptide chains with more negative charges could result in the strength of electrostatic repulsive forces between BSA molecules and membrane. As a result, the BSA foulant could be stably removed in the Ag@BiOBr/PVDF photocatalytic ultrafiltration system under visible light irradiation, achieving the excellent anti-fouling performance by preventing the membrane pore blockage and foulant adhesion. We believe the Ag@BiOBr/PVDF photocatalytic membrane presented in this study will be one example among many photocatalyst-membrane combinations that can be further pursued for organic pollutants removal. In particular, we expect the theoretical support can present a great opportunity to design novel photocatalytic membranes with sustainable anti-fouling performance.

Preparing GQDs/NiAl-LDH Composites and Investigating the Photocatalytic CO2 Reduction Performance: An Undergraduate Laboratory Experiment

The chemical experiment is designed for undergraduates majoring in chemistry, energy, and environment. The intended purpose is that the students will comprehend the reaction mechanism of photocatalytic reduction of CO2 through hands-on experiments and deepen their understanding of sustainable energy technologies. More importantly, the experiment can make students strengthen the understanding of basic theory of photochemistry and become familiar with the operation process of laboratory instruments, such as a photocatalytic reactor and gas chromatograph. The novel graphene quantum dots/NiAl layered double hydroxide (GQDs/NiAl-LDH) composites are prepared by undergraduates, and the photocatalytic activity is investigated through a series of characterizations and tests. Then the reaction mechanism analysis is carried out in the form of group discussion after the experiment. The student’s grade in the laboratory experiment depends on the experimental operation, catalyst synthesis, photocatalytic activity, and mechanism analysis. It is promising that students can organically combine chemistry knowledge with experimental operation through this experiment, so as to encourage them to continue the research related to photocatalytic CO2 reduction.

Numerical analysis of a negative emission technology of methane to mitigate climate change

The increase of 1.09 °C in global temperature resulted in significant catastrophes because of the extreme climate. The climate change rate can be slowed down by reducing the levels of CH4 and CO2 in the atmosphere. The solar chimney power plant integrated with a honeycomb photocatalytic reactor (SCPP-HPCR) uses the photocatalytic technology to remove atmospheric CH4. In addition, CO2 emissions can be reduced from coal fired power plant due to the generating capacity of the system. In this paper, the influence of the geometric parameters of the reactor and turbine on the overall performance of the SCPP-HPCR is studied by numerical simulation. The obtained results showed that the flow resistance inside the system was mostly caused by the HPCR at low turbine speed, and primarily by the turbine at high turbine speed. Reducing the pore diameter of the reactor could improve the photocatalytic performance of the SCPP-HPCR more than increasing the turbine speed. The SCPP-HPCR having a pore diameter of 3 mm, porosity of 0.85, and constant turbine speed of 180 rpm, built in Qianyanzhou, China, could remove 2.38 kg of CH4 and reduce 375.52 kg of CO2 in one day.

An overview of wastewater treatment using combined heterogeneous photocatalysis and membrane distillation

The need for efficient remediation solutions to wastewater has risen due to the concerning prevalence of toxic organic pollutants. It is possible for the linked photocatalysis-membrane separation system to concurrently achieve the photoreaction of pollutants and their removal from wastewater in order to accomplish the goal of completely purifying the wastewater. This investigation's objective is to provide analytical overview of the photocatalytic and membrane coupling process, photocatalytic membrane reactors, and the potential applications of these technologies in the treatment of wastewater for the persistent organic matter removal. In the review, an examination of photocatalytic and membrane processes to remove organic compounds from wastewater is presented. Based on the literature analysis, it was observed that the application of photocatalytic membrane reactors is significantly influenced by a wide variety of factors. Some of these factors include pollutant concentration, dissolved oxygen, aeration, pH, and hydraulic retention time. Light intensity is another factor that has a significant influence. It was also revealed how distillation membranes work when integrated with photocatalytic process. This brief overview will help researchers understand how successful coupled photocatalytic and membrane distillation are in the treatment of wastewater containing organic pollutants.