The photodegradation of selected pharmaceuticals and other contaminants of emerging concern was studied in a novel microcapillary array photoreactor which was designed to maximize the rate of contaminant phototransformation. The photoreactor is made by flexible, UVC transparent, microchannels (in the range from 80 to 200 micrometers in diameters) arranged in an array configuration, which allows a pseudo uniform irradiation of the aqueous solution. The complete removal of the contaminants with UVC radiation alone and in the presence of hydrogen peroxide (UVC/H2O2) was reached in a few minutes and using a few ml of spiked water. Despite the Reynolds numbers were well into the laminar flow regime, the very small diameters of the microcapillaries caused significant radial dispersion of the fluid, which resulted to an effective flow regime close to plug flow. The microcapillary array photoreactor offers a new platform to study the photochemistry of trace contaminants.

Photodegradation of pharmaceuticals and other contaminants of emerging concern in a novel microcapillary array photoreactor

248th National Meeting (2014)

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