Radiation absorption and rate constants for carbaryl photocatalytic degradation in a solar collector

We discuss an analytical model for the evaluation of radiation absorption in a tubular photocatalytic reactor. The model has no adjustable parameters and takes into account scattering in all directions. We compare the results of this model with those of Monte Carlo (MC) simulations and of a Lambert-Beer (LB) approximation, for a reactor illuminated by a parabolic solar concentrator. A good correspondence is found with the MC simulations. In particulars the model displays the correct saturation behavior of absorption for large catalyst particle concentrations, which is not obtained with the LB approximation. We have carried out experiments for the degradation of carbaryl in a solar parabolic collector (PC). The model is used to calculate the rate constant for this degradation from the experimental data. The theoretical model predictions reproduce well, the trends observed in the experiments. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.