Diseño y construcción de un reactor tubular fotocatalítico para tratamiento del agua

Abstract

Abstract: Water contamination by cyanide from mining activities represents a serious environmental and health problem. This study aimed to design and build a photocatalytic tubular reactor for the removal of this substance using the heterogeneous photocatalysis method. The photocatalytic ceramic tube was designed with a mixture of clay and TiO₂, integrated into a shell system with a concentric 254 nm UVC light lamp, and supplied by a peristaltic pump to regulate the flow rate. The degradation of the compound was measured using UV spectrophotometry. The results show that the designed photoreactor achieved a degradation of 10.72% at a flow rate of 3.98 ml/s and 30.96% when its flow rate was reduced to 3.08 ml/s, while the commercial photoreactor achieved degradations of 34.34% at a flow rate of 3.60 ml/s and 40.47% at a flow rate of 2.64 ml/s. Although the studied reactor showed lower initial efficiency than the commercial reactor, greater efficiency is achieved as its flow rate is reduced, thus highlighting its potential as a viable and economical alternative.