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CFD analysis of a H2O2/UVC water treatment process in the annular FluHelik reactor

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Abstract

This study deals with the photochemical degradation of the model compound tetracycline, an aqueous pollutant derived from the degradation of the bactericide oxytetracycline (OTC), in the innovative photoreactor FluHelik, designed to promote pollutant abatement in liquid phase through H2O2/UVC and UVC processes. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations were performed to predict the behavior of the photoreactor in the laboratory scale. The simulations revealed a well-defined helicoidal flow pattern around the UVC lamp in the photoreactor, and the effect of different operational conditions (e.g., flow rate and light intensity) on the reactor’s performance was evaluated, allowing to optimize the equipment.

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Data availability

All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in this published article

Abbreviations

[OTC], C OTC :

OTC concentration (mol ∙ m−3)

[OTC]0, \( {C}_{\mathrm{OTC}}^0 \) :

OTC initial concentration (mol ∙ m−3)

t n :

Time step

ε OTC, ε p :

OTC and hydrogen peroxide molar absorptivities at 254 nm

ϕ OTC, ϕ p :

OTC and H2O2 quantum yield at 254 nm

\( {C_{{\mathrm{H}}_2\mathrm{O}}}_2 \) :

H2O2 initial concentration (mol ∙ m−3)

\( {E}_{w,\lambda}^0 \) :

spectral fluence rate (einstein ∙ cm−2 ∙ s−1)

\( {e}_{\mathrm{OTC}{,}_{\lambda }} \), \( {e}_{p{,}_{\lambda }} \) :

average local volumetric rate of photon absorption

k 2, k 9, k 11, k 10 :

kinetic constants (m3 ∙ s−1 ∙ mol−1)

L r :

photoreactor’s length (m)

\( {Q}_{\mathrm{UV}{,}_n} \) :

accumulated energy at step n (kJ ∙ h−1)

\( {Q}_{\mathrm{UV}{,}_{n-1}} \) :

accumulated energy at step n-1 (kJ ∙ h−1)

V r :

reactor’s volume (m3)

V t :

reactor’s total volume (m3)

v y :

velocity (m ∙ s−1)

V solution :

volume of solution (m3)

X OTC :

conversion (%)

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Funding

This study was financed in part by the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior – Brasil (CAPES) – Finance Code 001. and by Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq).

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Contributions

SVML run the CFD simulations, analyzed the data, and wrote the original manuscript. NP and CS provided the resources, managed the research, and revised/edited the original manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Natan Padoin or Cíntia Soares.

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Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

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Responsible editor: Sami Rtimi

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de Medeiros Lima, S.V., Padoin, N. & Soares, C. CFD analysis of a H2O2/UVC water treatment process in the annular FluHelik reactor. Environ Sci Pollut Res 28, 41224–41232 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-13566-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-13566-6

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