Bijel-based mesophotoreactor with integrated carbon nitride for continuous-flow photocatalysis

The integration of continuous-flow technologies with heterogeneous photocatalysis has recently emerged as a promising strategy for the development of sustainable processes. Although conventional packed bed reactors have been extensively utilized in industrial catalytic applications, they face challenges related to energy transfer in the photocatalytic systems. This study presents an innovative approach to address this issue by integrating heterogeneous photocatalysts with an organic polymer, leading to the fabrication of a mesophotoreactor featuring a bijel-based structural configuration. This novel strategy involves hybridizing polypentadecalactone and in situ confining of carbon nitride in a bicontinuous porous mesoarchitecture. The structural and physicochemical properties of the resulting catalytic composite material are evaluated through an array of characterization methods, affirming the successful integration of carbon nitride within the overall structure. The unique bicontinuous porous architecture of the composite and its suitability for industrial applications is verified, as exemplified by its exceptional efficiency in the photodegradation of methylene blue (>99 %) under flow conditions and remarkable stability up to three reaction cycles. A mathematical model is developed to describe continuous photocatalytic processes occurring in the novel tubular mesophotoreactor, with a specific focus on the degradation of the methylene blue dye. This model is successfully validated, leading to results in agreement with the experimental measurements. Additionally, fluid dynamics simulations demonstrate that the mesophotoreactor design allows for the effective diffusion of light through its channels, resulting in higher irradiation levels compared to conventional systems such as packed bed reactors. The innovative design of the catalytic reactor presented in this work offers a versatile and efficient alternative to the conventional heterogeneous systems, significantly broadening the range of applications for photocatalytic processes.