UV-A photocatalytic treatment of Legionella pneumophila bacteria contaminated airflows through three-dimensional solid foam structured photocatalytic reactors.

A 3D-structured photocatalytic media was designed for allowing a tubular reactor to work in a traversing-flow mode at low pressure drops with a strong increase in the surface area-to-volume ratio inside the reactor. A protective polysiloxane coating was performed for protecting a structured polyurethane foam and anchoring the active TiO(2) particles. Filled with the 3D-structured solid foam supporting TiO(2) photocatalyst, the reactor could thus take advantages from the static mixer effect and from the low pressure drop resulting from the reticulated foam support. Very efficient decontamination levels towards airborne Legionella pneumophila bacteria were reached in a single-pass test mode. (c) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.