Solar chimney power plant integrated with a photocatalytic reactor to remove atmospheric methane: A numerical analysis

Methane (CH4) is the second largest contributor to global warming among all greenhouses gases. A solar chimney power plant integrated with a photocatalytic reactor (SCPP-PCR) is a promising large-scale method for removing CH4 from the atmosphere. This study used computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to investigate the performance and factors influencing photocatalytic oxidation of methane by the SCPP-PCR system. The geometry of a SCPP is the same as the prototype of the SCPP built in Manzanares (Spain). The PCR is designed based on a honeycomb monolith photoreactor. The numerical results revealed that the SCPP-PCR system can degraded 21,312 g methane per day with the actual solar radiation data when the channel diameter of the honeycomb PCR was 4 mm and channel length was 8 m. Although increasing the length or decreasing the channel diameter of the PCR would improve photocatalytic efficiency, the rate of airflow of the system would be reduced. The maximum methane purification rate of the SCPP-PCR system was determined.