Development of a Parallel Test System for the Evaluation of UV-PCO Systems

Ultraviolet photocatalytic oxidation (UV-PCO) is considered as a promising technology but the complicated PCO reaction mechanisms and unexpected intermediates still need to be further explored in order that PCO technology can be successfully applied. Standard test methods for air cleaning systems are mainly for measuring particulate removal, limiting ozone generation. ASHRAE has developed test methods for gaseous pollutant removal; however, these are mainly applicable for sorbent media like activated carbons. Numerous papers on UV-PCO technology present the potential of UV-PCO, but the majority of these works were done in bench-top scale reactors under ideal reaction conditions.

The main objective of this research is to evaluate UV-PCO systems equitably and thoroughly under the conditions relevant to the actual applications. For this purpose a test rig composed of four parallel test ducts with 0.3m x 0.3m of cross-sectional area each, was designed and constructed. UV-PCO section was designed to be versatile so that different UV-PCO systems with various geometries can be installed. Each duct has a fan with a variable speed control so that the test air flow can be controlled regardless of the flow resistances of different UV-PCO systems. We carried out prequalification tests of the test rig including air leakage test, velocity uniformity test, concentration uniformity test and sink effect test of the test rig. Then three different UV-PCO systems and one ozone generation system were tested for ethanol removal. The paper presents the details of the design and the prequalification tests of the test rig, and some preliminary test results of UV-PCO systems.

Citation: Cold Climate Conference



Product Code(s): D-CCC12-10