Modularized and Water-Cooled Photo-Catalyst Cleaning Devices for Aquaponics Based on Ultraviolet Light-Emitting Diodes

摘要

The feasibility of applying ultraviolet light-emitting diodes (UV-LED's) as triggering sources of photo-catalyst based on titanium dioxide (TiO_2) nano-coating specifically for water-cleaning process in an aquaponics system was designed and proposed. The aquaponics system is a modern farming system to integrate aquaculture and hydroponics into a single system to establish an environmental-friendly and lower-cost method for farming fish and vegetable all together in urban area. Water treatment in an aquaponics system is crucial to avoid mutual contamination. we proposed a modularized water-cleaning device composed of all commercially available components and parts to eliminate organic contaminants by using UV-LED's for TiO_2 photo-catalyst reaction. This water-cleaning module consisted of two coaxial hollowed cylindrical pipes can be submerged completely in water for water treatment and cooling UV-LED's. The temperature of the UV-LED after proper thermal management can be reduced about 16% to maintain the optimal operation condition. Our preliminary experimental result by using Methylene Blue solution to simulate organic contaminants indicated that TiO_2 photo-catalyst triggered by UV-LED's can effectively decompose organic compound and decolor Methylene Blue solution.