A Study on the Effects of Operating Parameters on the Degradation of Oxalic Acid in a Photocatalytic Reactor using Computational Fluid Dynamics

The simulation of photocatalytic reactor is conducted using computational fluid dynamics. Turbulence is described by using the RNG k-ε turbulence model. The DO radiation model is used to simulate the irradiance distribution in the photocatalytic reactor. The effects of operating parameters on the performance of photocatalytic reactor are considered. Results show that the degradation rate of oxalic acid decreases with the increase of inlet flow. The degradation efficiency decreases from 50% to 40% when the flow rate changes from 2.5 m3 h−1 to 10 m3 h−1. The degradation rate of oxalic acid can be improved by increasing the irradiance of the lamp. The degradation efficiency of oxalic acid in the photocatalytic reactor first reaches a maximum degradation efficiency with the increase of titanium dioxide concentration, and then decreases with the increase of titanium dioxide concentration. An optimal concentration of catalysts exists. The maximum degradation efficiency is 27% for the catalyst concentration of 20 µgL−1.