Quasi-isoactinic reactor for photocatalytic kinetics studies

Abstract

Photochemical reactors characterized by almost uniform values of the local volumetric rate of photon absorption (LVRPA), i.e., quasi-isoactinic photoreactors, are particularly suitable for assessing the influence of radiant field intensity in kinetic studies. In this work, Monte Carlo simulations have been performed to obtain LVRPA values in a flat photoreactor irradiated on both sides. This configuration appears to be particularly suitable for obtaining quasi-isoactinic conditions. The influence of catalyst albedo and scattering phase function is assessed, and the conditions for obtaining iso-actinicity are discussed. Finally, these conditions are related to an easy-to-measure parameter, namely, the photoreactor fractional transmittance.