Research and Innovation: Photocatalytic reactor development for the treatment of contaminated gas with volatile organic compounds
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Photocatalytic reactor development for the treatment of contaminated gas with volatile organic compounds

Abstract

Currently, environmental protection agencies all over the world are strengthening laws related to atmospheric emission of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC). In 1990, the Clean Air Act from USEPA has raised the number of toxic compounds to be controlled from 7 to 189. Fifty percent (50%) of these are VOC. In Brazilian laws system, Conselho Nacional do Meio Ambiente (CONAMA) has given VOC a definition in 2006 by Resolution 382/2006: "organic compounds whose boiling point 130ºC or lower when exposed to atmospheric pressure, which can contribute to the formation of photochemical oxidants". It has not stipulated emission limits, though. In 2009, the Plano Nacional de Qualidade do Ar (PNQA) has brought a project to quantify local emissions of VOC in order to identify critical areas. Concerned with the context described, this work proposes an innovative system capable to degrade VOC when employed in conditions that currently used technologies lack liability. The treatment process is based on the catalytic photo-oxidation of the contaminants when in contact with titanium dioxide (TiO2) and ultraviolet radiation. Based on the knowledge of the last two decades concerning the usage of this technique to treat gaseous effluents, this study aims to develop a fluidized bed reactor operating under fast fluidized bed conditions, in which the catalyst particles are entrained and returned to an irradiated channel. In the specialized literature, this reactor configuration is denoted STTR (Straight-Through Transport Reactor) (FOGLER, 2005, p 728). The results obtained up to the present date and reported in scientific publications indicate that this reactor configuration might be able to improve treatment capacity of the photo catalytic process. The experimental reactor will be built in glass and will consist of an up-flow annular channel, with a flow distribution plate at its entrance. An ultraviolet radiation source will be installed in the internal part of the annulus, isolated by a quartz tube. A cyclone separator and a mechanical transportation system will be installed in order to collect and transport the catalyst particles back to the annulus. The product gas will be exhausted from the cyclone. The catalyst particles will consist of titanium dioxide coated on silica particles by the sol-gel method. Air supply to the system will be provided by a fan. In order to control air humidity, the air stream will be dried and part of it will be saturated with water. The air stream will be contaminated with a known concentration of benzene, toluene, xylene and ethyl-benzene. The technical feasibility of this reaction system will be evaluated from the experimental results on degradation of the contaminants present in the air stream. The degradation rate will be based on chemical analyses to be carried out with collected samples from the exit gas stream. These analyses will be made by specialized laboratories following technical rules and procedures. The planned activities for phase 1 of this project involve assembling the experimental reactor and, performing a set of planned experiments, and analyzing the results. Ecoplas Equipamentos Industriais LTDA. will be in charge of the experiments, with the collaboration of the following researchers, from USP: Prof. Dr. Antonio Carlos S. C. Teixeira, Prof. Dr. José Luis de Paiva, Prof. Dr. Roberto Guardani, and Dr. Thiago L. R. Hewer, who are known specialists in regard to the various topics included in this project. An Intellectual Property Agreement will be signed with USP at this stage. The main product of this development phase will be a technical report containing experimental results and data treatment results, related to reactor design criteria and a preliminary study on the technical and economic feasibility of the proposed reaction system. In case of feasible results, this study will serve as a basis for scale-up of the equipment, which is to be held in a PIPE Phase 2 project. (AU)

Articles published in Agência FAPESP Newsletter about the research grant:
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VEICULO: TITULO (DATA)
VEICULO: TITULO (DATA)

Scientific publications (5)
(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)
DINIZ, LEONARDO ALMEIDA; MATSUMOTO, DANIELLE; SILVA COSTA TEIXEIRA, ANTONIO CARLOS. Photocatalytic degradation of n-hexane in a circulating fluidized bed: An investigation based on the freeboard entrainment model. CATALYSIS TODAY, v. 361, n. SI, p. 109-116, . (16/00953-6)
DANIELLE MATSUMOTO; LEONARDO ALMEIDA DINIZ; LETÍCIA SILVA CASTRO; ANTONIO CARLOS SILVA COSTA TEIXEIRA; ROBERTO GUARDANI; JOSÉ LUIS DE PAIVA. KINETIC MODELING AND EXPERIMENTAL VALIDATION OF A PHOTOCATALYTIC FLUIDIZED BED REACTOR FOR n-HEXANE DEGRADATION. Brazilian Journal of Chemical Engineering, v. 36, n. 4, p. 1561-1570, . (16/00953-6)
GUSMAO, CAROLINA DE ARAUJO; DINIZ, LEONARDO ALMEIDA; RAMOS, BRUNO; CAMARA, ALAN GOMES; PACHECO, JOSE GERALDO A.; SILVA COSTA TEIXEIRA, ANTONIO CARLOS. Optimization of TiO2/SiO2 photocatalysts in a LED-irradiated gas-solid photoreactor for air treatment. CHEMICAL ENGINEERING RESEARCH & DESIGN, v. 185, p. 16-pg., . (16/00953-6)
DINIZ, LEONARDO ALMEIDA; REIS HEWER, THIAGO LEWIS; MATSUMOTO, DANIELLE; SILVA COSTA TEIXEIRA, ANTONIO CARLOS. A comparison between the four Geldart groups on the performance of a gas-phase annular fluidized bed photoreactor for volatile organic compound oxidation. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, v. 26, n. 5, p. 4242-4252, . (16/00953-6)
DINIZ, LEONARDO ALMEIDA; MATSUMOTO, DANIELLE; SILVA COSTA TEIXEIRA, ANTONIO CARLOS. Photocatalytic degradation of n-hexane in a circulating fluidized bed: An investigation based on the freeboard entrainment model. CATALYSIS TODAY, v. 361, p. 8-pg., . (16/00953-6)

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