Influence of operating parameters on the single-pass photocatalytic removal efficiency of acrylonitrile

Abstract : Photocatalytic oxidation (PCO) is an advanced air cleaning technology that is used as a means to improve air quality in indoor environments and could also potentially be used in hospital operating rooms (ORs). However, when it comes to the feasibility of using PCO to remove VOCs, most studies have been on those that are commonly found in indoor environments like homes and schools. There are little or no studies on other indoor environments like hospitals. Therefore in this work, acrylonitrile, one of the hazardous compounds found in surgical smoke (a source of pollution in the OR) was chosen as a representative compound to evaluate the performance of a photocatalytic system in an OR. The experiments were performed in a 420-L multi-pass laboratory reactor. The performance of the system was based on the influence that three operating parameters (air velocity, light intensity and initial concentration) would have on the single-pass removal efficiency (SPRE). A mathematical model was used to enable the calculation of the SPRE from the experimental degradation profile. The influence of the operating parameters on the degradation of acrylonitrile as well as the possible inter-mediates formed and mineralization rates are discussed.