CHEMICAL AND PHOTOCHEMICAL FACTORS CONTROLLING THE PHOTOEFFICIENCY OF PHOTOPROMOTED SOLID-CATALYZED OXIDATIVE DECOMPOSITION OF ORGANIC VAPORS

PROJECT SUNRISE, INC. PROPOSES TO PERFORM PHASE I BASIC LABORATORY RESEARCH ON THE PHOTOPROMOTED SEMICONDUCTOR-CATALYZED OXIDATIVE MINERALIZATION OF VAPORIZED ORGANIC POLLUTANTS. THIS RESEARCH IS BASED ON THEPRIOR ACHIEVEMENT BY PROJECT SUNRISE OF A PHOTOEFFICIENCY, EP = (MOLECULES REACTING)/(PHOTONS INCIDENT), OF SEMICONDUCTOR-CATALYZED OXIDATIVE MINERALIZATION OF VAPORIZED TRICHLOROETHYLENE, TCE, OF 19MOLEC./PHOTON. THIS EP VALUE IS ALMOST TWO ORDERS OF MAGNITUDE HIGHER THAN HAS BEEN ACHIEVED BY PHOTOPROMOTED SEMICONDUCTOR-CATALYZED OXIDATIVE MINERALIZATION OF AQUEOUS SLURRIES CONTAINING TCE AND INDICATES THAT THE REACTION INVOLVES A CHAIN PROCESS. SUCH A HIGH EP MAKES POSSIBLE CORRESPONDINGLY HIGHER THROUGHPUTS IN SOLAR OR LAMP-IRRADIATED PROCESSES AND LARGE SAVINGS IN POWER COSTS FOR LAMPS. USE OF FIXED CATALYST BEDS WITH VAPOR SYSTEMS ELIMINATES PROBLEMS AND COST ASSOCIATED WITH SEPARATING AND RECYCLING SLURRIED CATALYST. A SYSTEMATIC STUDY OF THE DEPENDENCE OF EP OF TCE ON VAPOR COMPOSITION, NATURE AND DEPLOYMENT OF CATALYST, WAVELENGTH AND INTENSITY OF RADIATION, AND TEMPERATURE WILL BE CARRIED OUT IN LABORATORY BENCH-TOP FIXED-BED REACTORS TO DETERMINE CONDITIONS FOR OPTIMIZATION OF EP AND TO OBTAIN INFORMATION ON THE FUNDAMENTAL CHEMISTRY OF THE PROCESS. AN EFFORT WILLBE MADE TO DETERMINE IN WHICH PHASE THE CHAIN PROCESS OCCURS. THE STUDY WILL BE EXTENDED TO FIVE OTHER VAPORIZED ORGANIC COMPOUNDS, CHLOROFORM, METHYL CHLOROFORM, PERCHLOROETHYLENE, ISO-OCTANE AND TOLUENE. THE DATA OBTAINED IN THIS STUDY ARE EXPECTED TO PROVIDE PROOF OF PRINCIPLE FOR A PROMISING NEW COST-EFFECTIVE TECHNOLOGY FOR MINERALIZATION OF ORGANIC POLLUTANTS. IT IS ANTICIPATED THAT THIS TECHNOLOGY WILL BE APPLICABLE TO CONTROL OF A WIDERANGE OF POLLUTION PROBLEMS INCLUDING INDUSTRIAL WASTES, POLLUTANTS CONCENTRATED IN VENTILLATION SYSTEMS AND STORED BULK POLLUTANTS.