Engineering-scale experiments of solar photocatalytic oxidation of trichloroethylene
A photocatalytic process is being developed to destroy organic contaminants in water. Tests with a common water pollutant, trichlorethylene (TCE), were conducted at the Solar Thermal Test Facility at Sandia with trough systems. Tests at this scale provide verification of laboratory studies and allow examination of design and operation issues that only arise in experiments on a realistic scale. The catalyst, titanium dioxide (TiO{sub 2}), is a harmless material found in paint, cosmetics and even toothpaste. We examined the effect of initial contaminant concentration and the effect of hydrogen peroxide on the photocatalytic decomposition of trichlorethylene (TCE). An aqueous solution of 5000 parts per billion (ppB) TCE with 0.1 weight {percent} suspended titanium dioxide catalyst required approximately 4.2 minutes of exposure to destroy the TCE to a detection limit of 5 ppB. For a 300 ppB TCE solution, the time required was only 2.5 minutes to reach the same level of destruction. Adding 250 parts per million (ppM) of hydrogen peroxide reduced the time required by about 1 minute. A two parameter Langmuir Hinshelwood model was able to describe the data. A simple flow apparatus was built to test four fixed catalyst supports and to measure their pressure drop and assess their ability to withstand flow conditions typical of a full-sized system. In this paper, we summarize the engineering-scale testing and results. 16 refs., 5 figs.
- Research Organization:
- Sandia National Labs., Albuquerque, NM (USA)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- DOE/CE
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC04-76DP00789
- OSTI ID:
- 6994239
- Report Number(s):
- SAND-89-3116C; CONF-900801--11; ON: DE90011474
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Photocatalytic destruction of chlorinated solvents with solar energy
Enhancement of processes for solar photocatalytic detoxification of water
Related Subjects
140909* -- Solar Thermal Utilization-- Miscellaneous Solar Applications-- (1980-)
37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
400500 -- Photochemistry
CATALYTIC EFFECTS
CHALCOGENIDES
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
CHLORINATED ALIPHATIC HYDROCARBONS
CONCENTRATING COLLECTORS
EQUIPMENT
HALOGENATED ALIPHATIC HYDROCARBONS
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
HYDROGEN PEROXIDE
MANAGEMENT
ORGANIC CHLORINE COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC HALOGEN COMPOUNDS
OXIDATION
OXIDES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PARABOLIC COLLECTORS
PARABOLIC TROUGH COLLECTORS
PEROXIDES
PHOTOCHEMICAL REACTIONS
PRESSURE DROP
PROCESSING
SOLAR COLLECTORS
SOLAR EQUIPMENT
TITANIUM COMPOUNDS
TITANIUM OXIDES
TRANSITION ELEMENT COMPOUNDS
WASTE MANAGEMENT
WASTE PROCESSING