Photocatalytic Oxidation of Ethyl Alcohol in an Annulus Fluidized Bed Reactor

The photocatalytic oxidation of ethyl alcohol vapor in an annulus fluidized bed reactor of 0.06 m I.D. and 1.0 m long was examined. The TiO2 catalyst employed was prepared by the sol-gel method and was coated on the silica gel powder. The UV lamp was installed at the center of the bed as the light source. The effects of the initial con- centration of ethyl alcohol, the power of UV-lamp, the photocatalysts with different preparation methods, and the superficial gas velocity on the reaction rate of ethyl alcohol decomposition were determined. It was found that, at 1.2 Umf of flow rate, about 80% of ethyl alcohol was decomposed with initial concentration of 10,000 ppmv and the increase of superficial gas velocity reduced the reaction rate significantly.