Degradation of VOCs Using a Photoreactor with Glass-Supported TiO2 and Ozone Addition
A lab-scale photoreactor with glass tubes coated with TiO2 was developed, and effective methods were examined to economically treat large amount of under ozone supply. Emphasis was placed to the design study of large scale reactors, so that prediction methods of VOCs removal efficiency can be applied even to pilot-scale photoreactors. TiO2 sol was coated on the surface of glass tubes to magnify the photocatalyst load per unit area of support, and to increase the light-transmitting area and transparence of supports. BTEX(Benzene, Toluene, Ethylbenzene, and O-Xylene) were taken as sample VOCs under consideration that they are harmful to human health, produces in large amount in industries, and difficult to decompose. The effect of ozone on the photocatalytic oxidation was investigated, by conducting photodegradation experiments using TiO2/UV process with and without O3 addition. In order to find optimal operating conditions of O3/TiO2/UV/glass system, the variations of BTEX photodegradation were characterized with gas temperature, humidity, initial concentration, vapor flow rate, and photocatalyst loading rate.