A CFD-assisted UV- H2O2 advanced oxidation process intensification in a novel photoreactor through reflector shape optimization

Abstract

Incorporating reflectors in advanced oxidation processes offers advantages in both the maintenance and performance of novel reactors when compared to conventional ones. A Monte Carlo radiation simulation was developed for a novel photoreactor and integrated into a genetic algorithm to optimize the shape of reflectors for maximum radiation absorption on the effluent pipe. To assess the overall performance of photoreactors with optimized and non-optimized reflectors, as well as conventional photoreactors, the fluid flow, radiation distribution, and chemical reactions were simulated using a well-validated computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model. The flow rate, radiative power, and pollutant concentration at the inlet were held constant across the three photoreactor designs to compare the degradation efficiency of model pollutants, namely Tributyl Phosphate (TBP), Tri 2-Chloroethyl Phosphate (TCEP), and Tri 2-Butoxyethyl Phosphate (TBEP). At a flow rate of 10 gallons per minute (GPM), the photoreactor with optimized reflectors showed 14.12 %, 5.96 %, and 8.37 % higher degradation of TBP, TCEP, and TBEP, respectively, compared to the conventional photoreactor. When compared to the photoreactor with non-optimized reflectors, the degradation rates improved by 4.33 %, 2.52 %, and 2.1 %, respectively.