A Taylor vortex photocatalytic reactor for water purification

A detailed analysis has been performed for a heterogeneous photocatalytic T aylor vortex reactor that uses flow instability to recirculate fluid contin ually from the vicinity of the rotating inner cylindrical surface to the st ationary outer cylindrical surface of an annulus. In the present research, a detailed time-accurate computation shows the different stages of flow evo lution and the effects of the finite length of the reactor in creating eddi es, which results in a very high overall efficiency of photocatalytic conve rsion. The physical arrangement considered is such that pollutant degradati on is maximized by the motion of fluid particles in a specific regime of ce ntrifugal instability. Also provided are detailed flow structures for the c hosen parameters when the reactor is started impulsively.