Modeling of a combined ultraviolet-biofilter system to treat gaseous chlorobenzene I: model development and parametric sensitivity

A new type of a combined ultraviolet (UV)-biofilter system for air pollution control is developed. In this paper, two conceptual mathematical submodels of the UV reactor and standalone biofilter are developed. All model parameters have been determined by independent experiments or have been taken from literature. Results from UV and the standalone biofilter submodels are in a good agreement with experimental data. However, the performance of the combined system has significantly deviated from those of the UV or standalone submodels because of the stimulating effects of UV irradiation products on the subsequent biofilter performance. A modified model that considers the stimulating effects has agreed well with experimental data over a wide range of operating conditions. Further analysis of the primary parametric sensitivity of the model has shown that inlet chlorobenzene concentrations, gas empty-bed residence time in the UV reactor, and light intensity are important operating conditions.