Hybridation between Heterogeneous Photocatalysis and Adsorption

摘要

The concept of a hybrid process resulting of the association from the photocatalytic and the adsorption principles opens various opportunities for the design of efficient detoxification processes. One option particularly attractive in the case of solar applications consists in developing a storage function thanks to the adsorbent and its adsorption capacities. As for any solar process, such a property is essential for the design of efficient photocatalytic water treatment. Before optimization of a hybrid process, preliminary studies necessary were carried out in a close fluid loop connecting a photocatalytic reactor based on supported TiO2 and a separate cell filled with a commercial activated carbon. With the 2-4 dichlorophenol selected as a model pollutant molecule, a series of successive cycles corresponding to dark adsorption followed by photocatalysis under UV irradiation was performed. The initial results are promising and indicate that the activated carbon is regenerated reproducibly thanks to photocatalysis. The coupling phenomenon has been explored numerically with mass balances applied to the liquid and the adsorbed phase.