Sonochemical production of hydrogen: A numerical model applied to the recovery of aqueous methanol waste under oxygen‐argon atmosphere

• Published in: Environmental progress 2021-03, Vol.40 (2), p.n/a
• Main Authors: Kerboua, Kaouther, Hamdaoui, Oualid, Al‐Zahrani, Saeed
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Argon; Atmosphere; Axes (reference lines); bubble dynamics; Chemical kinetics; Degradation; Hydrogen; Hydrogen production; Mathematical models; Methanol; numerical model; Numerical models; optimum; Reaction kinetics; Recovery; sonochemistry; Wastewater; Wastewater pollution; Wastewater treatment
• ISSN: 1944-7442; 1944-7450
• DOI: 10.1002/ep.13511

The present paper consists of a numerical simulation that investigates the opportunity to treat wastewater contaminated with methanol by sonolysis. The technique offers a double benefit in regard to two axes: methanol degradation and hydrogen emergence. The adopted model based on the simultaneous evolutions of bubble dynamics, physical and chemical kinetics as well as thermodynamics parameters inside the bubble, resulted in very interesting trends of methanol degradation efficiency and percentage of recovery to hydrogen. On one hand, the sonolysis of wastewater containing 6 to 40% (vol/vol) of methanol conducts to more than 90% of elimination efficiency under an atmosphere of 40% molar of argon. On the other hand, hydrogen production attains an optimum within a solution of 40% (vol/vol) of methanol under 50% molar of argon. The best combination of both axes is retrieved in the case of wastewater containing 20% (vol/vol) of methanol and saturated with 70% molar of argon; it leads to the elimination of 99.9% of the alcohol, and the conversion of the equivalent of 59% of the molar yield of degraded methanol to hydrogen.