Photochemical Remediation of Tetrachloroethylene: Reactor Design, Construction, and Preliminary Results
Publication: Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 130, Issue 1
Abstract
A custom designed pilot-scale photochemical remediation reactor is constructed for remediation of vapor-phase volatile organic halocarbons (VOHs), particularly chlorinated hydrocarbons such as PCE (tetrachloroethylene). Ultraviolet (UV) light, when emitted at an effective absorption frequency, cleaves a VOH’s carbon-chloride bond, transforming harmful contaminants to harmless products. The stainless steel reactor is of tubular-shape with an inner diameter of 32 cm and a length of 105 cm. The net volume of the reactor is approximately 73.7 L. Three stainless steel baffles are welded inside the reactor to create a well-mixed vapor phase and uniform UV contact time. Special low-pressure mercury amalgam UV lamps (Heraeus, Inc., Duluth, Ga.) are used as the photoenergy source. Two independent vapor-phase PCE destruction experiments are conducted using different influent contaminant concentrations. Both experiments show a PCE destruction efficiency of over 99%.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 130 • Issue 1 • January 2004
Pages: 100 - 103
Copyright
Copyright © 2004 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: May 28, 2002
Accepted: Nov 19, 2002
Published online: Dec 15, 2003
Published in print: Jan 2004
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