Photocatalytic membrane reactors reactor coupling

Mozia S, Tomaszewska M and Morawski A W (2007), Photocatalytic membrane reactor (PMR) coupling photocatalysis and membrane distillation—Effectiveness of removal of three azo dyes from water , Catal Today, 129,3-8. 

Photocatalytic membrane reactors have been analysed over the years (see e.g., Damodar and You, 2010 Grzechulska-Damszel et al, 2009 Molinari et al, 2002,2008,2009,2010 Mozia et al, 2008,2010), but only more recently has photocatalysis been coupled with pervaporation in an integrated process. 

Huang, X., Meng, Y., Liang, P., Qian, Y. (2007). Operational conditions of a membrane filtration reactor coupled with photocatalytic oxidation. Separation and Purification Technology, 55, 165—172. http //dx.doi.Org/10.1016/j.seppur.2006.ll.018. 

Meng Y, Huang X, Yang Q, Qian Y, Kubota N and Fukunaga S (2005), Treatment of polluted river water with a photocatalytic slurry reactor using low-pressure mercury lamps coupled with a membrane . Desalination, 181, 121-133. 

Damodar R A, You S-J and Ou S-H (2010), Coupling of membrane separation with photocatalytic slurry reactor for advanced dye wastewater treatment Sep Purif Technol, 76,64-71. 

One of the key issues in the application of photocatalysis is separation and recovery of photocatalyst from the reaction media. A promising solution for this is coupling of photocatalysis with membrane technology. PMRs are systems in which the advantages of both photocatalytic reaction and membrane separation are combined. Due to the application of membrane processes, not only recovery and reuse of the photocatalyst but also elongation of the residence time of the substrates in the reactor, as well as selective separation of the reaction products, is possible. 

In Fig. 21.7 a laboratory scale PMR coupling photocatalysis with MF is shown. The PMR was applied for the removal of trichloroethylene (TCE) from water (Choo et al., 2008). The system was composed of a photocatalytic reactor (volume of 700 cm ) and a hollow fiber MF module (effective membrane surface area of 20.7 cm ). A UV-A light source was placed in the inner chamber of the photoreactor, whereas in the outer chamber the solution undergoing the photocatalytic reaction was flowing. Feed from the feed tank was pumped through the photoreactor to the membrane module. The PMR was operated either in batch or in continuous mode. In batch operations, the permeate and retentate were recycled to the photoreactor. In continuous mode, the permeate was discharged and the same volume of the solution was fed into the reactor. Thus the working volume of the photoreactor was maintained at a constant level. 

---