Comparative study of energy consumption, kinetic, and performance between conventional and baffled photocatalytic reactor (BPCR) to ofloxacin photo-degradation

Abstract

Regarding the cost-effective photo-degradation of ofloxacin (OFL), present study investigates UV/sulfite /ZnO (USZ) in reactor conventional (without baffles) and baffled photocatalytic reactor (BPCR). The optimal condition was 0.77:2:50 sulfite/ZnO/OFL molar ratio, pH 7, and 30 min reaction time for 100% degradation of 200 mg L^-1 concentration of OFL. As information obtained, the UZI process reduces the BOD and COD level about 66% to 86.29% within 80 min reaction, respectively. Also, BOD/COD ratio initial from 0.26 reaches 0.6 after 30 min of reaction time. Kinetic investigation increasing OFL concentration, k_obs and r_obs increase, and, secondly, in the conventional and BPCR reactor, k_obs increase is about 17% and 50% with increasing OFL concentration from 50 to 200 mgL^-1. Also, figure-of-merit E_Eo varies from 12.66 to 17.41 and 7.26 to 10.15 kWhm³ for conventional reactor and 8.66-13.61 to 5.24-8.12 kWhm³, respectively. Also, kinetic model E_Eo declines from 15.23 to 8.61 and from 13.31 to 5.37 kWh m^-3 in conventional and BPCR, respectively. Total cost of the system (TCS) decreases from 7.31 to 2.16 $ in conventional reactor and 4.57 to 0.55 $ in PCBR reactor. Total cost of the system (TCS) was investigated at different concentrations.

Keywords: Baffled reactor; Intermediate; Oxidizing; Photo-degradation; Reducing.