Determination of the Clean Air Delivery Rate (CADR) of Photocatalytic Oxidation (PCO) Purifiers for Indoor Air Pollutants Using a Closed-Loop Reactor. Part I: Theoretical Considerations

This study demonstrated that a laboratory-scale recirculation closed-loop reactor can be an efficient technique for the determination of the Clean Air Delivery Rate (CADR) of PhotoCatalytic Oxidation (PCO) air purification devices. The recirculation closed-loop reactor was modeled by associating equations related to two ideal reactors: one is a perfectly mixed reservoir and the other is a plug flow system corresponding to the PCO device itself. Based on the assumption that the ratio between the residence time in the PCO device and the residence time in the reservoir τ(P)/τ(R) tends to 0, the model highlights that a lab closed-loop reactor can be a suitable technique for the determination of the efficiency of PCO devices. Moreover, if the single-pass removal efficiency is lower than 5% of the treated flow rate, the decrease in the pollutant concentration over time can be characterized by a first-order decay model in which the time constant is proportional to the CADR. The limits of the model are examined and reported in terms of operating conditions (experiment duration, ratio of residence times, and flow rate ranges).