Design of a novel fluidized bed photoreactor and equipment parameters optimization and application in removing aniline

This research presents a new type of three-phase internal circulating fluidized bed-external (annular) photocatalytic reactor. This new type of fluidized bed photocatalytic reactor has the advantages of high operating efficiency and long-term stable operation. With the help of experimental research and computational fluid dynamics simulations, the structural parameters of the new reactor were measured. The results show that the best structural parameters are the diameter ratio of the riser to the downcomer of 0.8 and the ratio of the height of the draft tube to the diameter of 4.5. The simulated aniline wastewater was then selected for treatment in this novel reactor via a TiO₂/activated carbon catalyst under optimal structural parameters. The results showed that when the initial concentration of aniline was 10 mg/L, the average removal rate of the three repeated experiments was close to 90%. This study provides academic support for optimizing the reactor design, which makes it suitable for laboratory experiments and large-scale industrial wastewater treatment applications.