Solar-Powered Photocatalytic Fiber-Optic Cable Reactor for Waste Stream Remediation

The design and testing of a solar-powered fiber-optic cable reactor prototype for the photocatalytic destruction of organic pollutants is presented. A concentrating collector directs sunlight into a fiber-optic cable which transmits light to a TiO2 photocatalyst immobilized on the fibers and immersed in a reaction solution. The performance of the reactor using solar and artificial UV radiation are compared. The system is also compared to another fiber-optic cable reactor having a 50 percent higher photocatalytic surface area-to-reactor volume ratio to investigate mass transport limitations. Reaction rates for the oxidation of 4-chlorophenol of 25 and 12 μMmin−1 were measured for solar and artificial UV sources, respectively. The faster reaction rate using solar radiation is due to a higher UV light flux compared to the artificial source. Both fiber-optic reactor systems were determined not to be mass transport limited. Relative quantum efficiencies of φ = 0.014 and φ = 0.020 were determined for the solar and artificial irradiations, respectively. In agreement with previous findings, enhanced quantum efficiencies are attributed to a lower absorbed light intensity-to-photocatalytic surface area ratio. The solar reactor prototype was found to degrade effectively 4-chlorophenol and may prove useful for the in situ passive decontamination of subsurface and other remote environments.