Radiation Models for Computational Fluid Dynamics Simulations of Photocatalytic Reactors

Abstract

AbstractThe literature on computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations applied to photocatalytic systems is reviewed. CFD simulations referring to three models, namely, P‐1, discrete ordinates (DO), and Monte Carlo (MC) models, for simulating radiation distribution in annular photoreactors are addressed and previous works using these models are reviewed. The cases are a three‐dimensional (3D) annular photoreactor and a two‐dimensional (2D) rectangular enclosure with black walls and the results are compared with the literature. The DO model was selected to solve the radiation transfer equation (RTE) as the most reliable model to fit the radiation distribution inside the reactor. The setting‐up of mesh, angular discretization, and boundary conditions for CFD simulation of photocatalytic reactors are addressed. When correctly set, the CFD models show an excellent agreement with the literature results.