3D printed lab-scale raceway ponds reactors applied to photo-Fenton processes

Abstract

In this work, two different printable materials, PLA (polylactic acid) and Timberfill were evaluated in terms of chemical resistance to photo-Fenton reactants and viability for conducting the assays in raceway pond reactors (RPRs). The modeling and testing of chemical reactors, in particular their prototyping can benefit from additive manufacturing. However, the preparation of RPRs by 3D printing to study photo-Fenton reactions has not been investigated. First, these raw materials were exposed to H2O2/Fe(II) solutions at pH=3±0.2 under sunlight to simulate photo-Fenton environment. TOC analysis showed that PLA did not alter the concentration of TOC of the solution in the presence of H2O2 and iron. Furthermore, printed PLA and Timberfill lab-scale raceway ponds were examined under similar conditions in addition 30±0.5 mg·L-1 of caffeine as contaminant and involving the simultaneous exposition of the artificial UVA light. Through different assays in the PLA pond, TOC was not rised during operation, and no organic matter contaminated the solution from its container. However, in the case of Timberfill, the TOC of solution increased that represented the material destruction during contact time. This work shows the promising capability of PLA to be used as photo-Fenton reactor.