Volatile Organic Compounds Removal in a Hybrid Photocatalytic-Electrostatic Reactor

Air cleaners that remove gaseous contaminants have primarily been used for protecting materials and artifacts (e.g., in museums) and for industrial applications (e.g., in semi-conductor manufacturing facilities). However, the use of gaseous air cleaners in other types of buildings could potentially reduce occupant exposure to a myriad of hazardous volatile organic compounds (VOCs). At present, residential and commercial gaseous air cleaning technologies have not gained wide acceptance in the marketplace, in part due to the lack of test methods and the existence of only limited field performance data. This paper focuses on experiments to measure the removal of VOCs with a combined photocatalytic-electrostatic-based gaseous air cleaner. As photocatalyst, Titanium Dioxide (TiO2) has been chosen because of its known photoactivity, stability and low cost. Electrostatic precipitation (ESP) is a highly efficient process for removing fine particles by the action of an induced electrostatic field. We have developed a new synergic one-step oxidation method with augmented VOC removal performance.