Optimization and Parameter Investigation of the Planar Photocatalytic Microreactor

Abstract

The microreactor could break the limitation of mass transfer and photon transmission in photocatalysis. Through a facile assembly method, a planar photocatalytic microreactor was constructed to fit most of the photocatalysts regardless of their strict preparation method. This microreactor exhibits a 2.41-fold efficiency compared to a bulk reactor. Parameters that affect the photocatalytic performance were discussed in detail by experiment and calculation. The diffusion rate is the main bottleneck in a planar microreactor under a laminar flow. The microreactor with lower height shows higher efficiency owing to faster mass transfer, while the length and width affect slightly. Elevating the light power density provides a diminishing benefit. Faster flow speed reduces the apparent degradation percent but increases the chemical reaction rate, in fact. The reaction rate increases to 9.31 times by reducing the height from 500 to 100 μm and grows another 1.76 times by adding the flow speed from 10 to 40 mL/h. This work illustrates the influence of parameters on planar photocatalytic microreactors and offers a promising prospect for large-volume photocatalytic water treatment.