Gas phase photocatalysis in a high speed fluidized bed: obtaining kinetic parameters of pollutants of interest

• Grant number: 20/09004-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: January 01, 2021
• End date: July 31, 2021
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Chemical Engineering - Chemical Process Industries
• Principal Investigator: Antonio Carlos Silva Costa Teixeira
• Grantee: Danyel Lambert da Silva
• Host Institution: Escola Politécnica (EP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The maintenance of air quality standards is paramount for the health of human beings living in urban centers and industrial areas. For this reason, the development of novel technologies for the treatment of gaseous emissions is a field of intense research, the goal of which is to convert toxic pollutants into harmless molecules. In this context, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are known to be a recalcitrant type of pollution. The project presented here aims to qualify an undergraduate student to collect the necessary data for the development of a predictive model of a Photocatalytic Fluidized Bed Reactor (PFBR), which has been proven to be safe and effective for the elimination of VOCs in air. This research project consists in the synthesis of silica-titanium photocatalysts (TiO2/SiO2), the interpretation of characterization results for these catalysts, and the application of the synthesized catalysts in 60 experiments that will permit the estimation of the kinetic parameters of the degradation of five real-case pollutants, namely n-hexane, ciclohexane, butanone, benzene, and toluene. The accomplishment of this project will enrich the literature in the field of fluidization and photocatalysis and also enable the application of the obtained kinetic data to assemble a complete phenomenological model for the PFB.R.