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An investigation on the use of ultraviolet light emitting diodes (UV LEDs) in a plug‐flow reactor for water treatment
Author(s) -
Almquist Catherine,
Fyda Sarah,
Godby Nate,
Miller Michael E.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
environmental progress and sustainable energy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.495
H-Index - 66
eISSN - 1944-7450
pISSN - 1944-7442
DOI - 10.1002/ep.12525
Subject(s) - methylene blue , ultraviolet , light emitting diode , plug flow , photochemistry , chemistry , materials science , chemical engineering , optoelectronics , photocatalysis , catalysis , organic chemistry , physics , thermodynamics , engineering
In this study, a small bench‐scale plug‐flow reactor was designed and characterized to demonstrate the feasibility of using UV/LEDs as a UV source in flow‐through advanced oxidation processes. The plug‐flow reactor was characterized by investigating the effects of residence time, H 2 O 2 /methylene blue molar ratio, and initial methylene blue concentration on methylene blue decolorization in water. Methylene blue was selected as a witness dye, because it does not degrade with H 2 O 2 or with UV alone, and it has reduced absorption in the visible spectrum when reacted with OH radicals. UV/LEDs have been employed successfully in AOPs for water treatment in research‐scale systems, as demonstrated in this study. However, they currently have low optical output, which limits their applicability for water treatment to small point‐of‐use systems. © 2017 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Environ Prog, 36: 857–863, 2017