A. (Aura) Visan

Research description

CFD modeling and experimentation of a PDMS-based photocatalytic microreactor

The role of catalyst in photocatalytic reactions for removing organic impurities in water is of paramount importance. TiO₂ attracts much attention and is studied widely as the desired material due to its various appealing characteristics. Chemically and biologically inertness, relatively convenient production methods and stability are only a few factors to mention. Microreactors, compared to conventional reactors, have various beneficial properties such as high surface area to volume ratio and small diffusion and light length, which make them suitable as heterogeneous photocatalytic reactors.

In this project we pursue a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model which studies the photocatalytic degradation of model compounds (Methylene blue, cortisone acetate,…) incorporating convective and diffusive mass transport, chemical reaction kinetics and ultraviolet (UV) light irradiation distribution within a PDMS-based microreactor. The study is supposed to verify experimental observations and predict the thickness of the catalyst for an optimum photocatalysis performance.