Ultraviolet radiation is used in both industrial and point of use water treatment technologies for various applications, such as: (1) disinfection through direct photolysis, (2) membrane biofouling prevention, (3) photocatalytic activation, and (4) advanced oxidation processes. Most photo-assisted research has pivoted away from mercury light sources and towards the use of UV/LEDs due to the decrease in cost and increase in efficiency and tunability. Still, a challenge with the technology is providing a reactor design that distributes sufficient and controlled UV light throughout the reactor.  Here, the solution arises with coupling light scattering optical fibers to UV LED for more effective radiation distribution. The flexibility of optical fibers allows for light from highly efficient LEDs or direct solar radiation to be guided through water treatment reactors, and distribution systems. Optical fibers are traditionally guiding, but functionalization of the fibers with nanoparticles generate non-uniformities that enhance light scattering. This scattered light can be used as a photon source for water disinfection or photocatalysis. Therefore there is a need to develop new methods of increasing the scattering efficiency of optical fibers in water treatment reactors.  This presentation will explore how to increase the uniform light scattering of optical fibers in water treatment reactor by removing the cladding, attaching both absorbing photocatalysis (<i>i.e.</i>, TiO<sub>2</sub>), and highly scattering nano-particles to the cladding-core interface of the fiber. These modifications improve light delivery and quantum yield of the system, therefore leading to faster reaction kinetics of both pollutant abatement and inactivation of bacteria/virus. Two main designs will be considered directed to photocatalytic reactions using titanium dioxide nanoparticles and UV LED 365 nm and disinfection using UV LED 260 nm. These highly scattering optical fibers increase both volumetric efficiency and reaction kinetics enabling the scale up of photo-assisted water treatment reactor designs.

Nano enabling optical fibers increases light scattering in photo-assisted water treatment

256th National Meeting (2018)

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