Application of ultraviolet light-emitting diode photocatalysis to remove volatile organic compounds from indoor air

Abstract

Photocatalytic oxidation (PCO) is a promising technology for indoor air purification due to low operating cost, potentially long service life, and low maintenance. Ultraviolet light-emitting diode (UVLED) is a new concept in the field of PCO, which has several advantages over conventional UV light sources. Limited research has been conducted using UVLED PCO for air treatment. This study demonstrated the potential application of UVLED for the removal of volatile organic compounds (VOCs; toluene and xylene) from indoor air under different operating conditions including flow rate (25-117 cubic feet per minute [cfm]), types of catalysts (Degussa P25, sol-gel TiO 2 , nitrogen-doped TiO 2 , clay TiO 2 , and Bi 2 O 3 ), LED intensity, and humidity in a continuous reactor. About 7-32% VOC removal occurred depending on the experimental conditions. The results show that UVLED can activate different types of photocatalysts effectively.Implications: This study demonstrates the effectiveness of UVLED in photocatalytic oxidation applied for indoor air cleaning. Several TiO 2 catalysts (Degussa P25, sol-gel TiO 2 , nitrogen-doped TiO 2 , clay TiO 2 , and Bi 2 O 3 ) were used in the reactor to characterize the removal performance of indoor air pollutants, for example, VOCs. This is one of the very few studies that have, to date, examined toluene and xylene removal from indoor air using these catalysts with UVLED in a continuous reactor. The intent is to develop an energy-efficient continuous reaction system to remove VOCs from indoor air. The performance of the system was characterized with respect to air flow rate, humidity, types of catalysts, and light intensity.

Assessment of indoor levels of volatile organic compounds and carbon dioxide in schools in Kuwait

“…Technological innovations of microbial application natural process in reducing indoor air pollution problems could be achieved as proposed by Guieysse et al (2008). Another technique has been presented by Sharmin and Ray (2012) for indoor air rectification using photocatalytic oxidation using ultraviolet lightemitting diode (UVLED).…”

Decisions for the IVF laboratory: comparative analysis of embryo culture incubators

“…Placement of specialized VOC filtration units inside incubators can also improve air quality and outcomes (Mayer et al, 1999;Merton et al, 2007;Schimmel et al, 1997), although this is not always the case (Battaglia et al, 2001;Higdon et al, 2008;McLellan et al, 2001) and, depending on their size, fitting into smaller incubators may be problematic. An emerging approach to improve air quality to some incubators includes recirculating atmosphere past a UV light source for photocatalytic breakdown of VOCs (Chapuis et al, 2002;Sharmin and Ray, 2012). Whether one of the aforementioned approaches to remove VOCs is superior to another or provides superior results in the IVF laboratory incubator is unknown.…”

Photo-microfluidic chip reactors for propene complete oxidation with TiO2 photocalyst using UV-LED light

“…In this aspect, the use of microreactors is very interesting due to their characteristically small dimensions. This property allows the use of LEDs (light emitting diodes) as lighting sources since they are significantly more power-efficient than traditional energy source as xenon or mercury lamps [35][36][37][38]. Nowadays, LEDs are replacing conventional bulb lamps because they produce light from electricity more efficiently.…”