Abstract―The photocatalytic reactors can operate using catalyst suspended in the solution or immobilized on various supports. Photocatalytic reactors with suspended catalyst give much better contact between the photocatalyst and dissolved impurities comparing to reactors with immobilized catalyst. Titanium dioxide (TiO 2 ) is a promising photocatalyst, when exposed to sunlight or UV rays, it decomposes the phenol present in wastewater. The available reactors are not so efficient in terms of light contact pattern. The aim of the present study was to design the new reactor and analyze its performance for removal of phenol from water with Titanium dioxide as the photocatalyst. The various parameters were studied to observe the behavior of designed reactor like variations in the initial feed concentration of phenol, mass of catalyst, and change in the intensity of UV light & its source, and aeration of the system. The reactor performance was evaluated on the basis on change in concentration with respect to time. The performance of the reactor was studied by running the reactor in fluidized state for a known feed concentration of phenol. The designed reactor has given a better degradation of phenol up to 95.27 % within one hours of time, which when compared to existing conversion of 94 % in two hours. Index Terms―Photo catalytic reactor, Phenol, Titanium dioxide, UV light I. INTRODUCTION The environmental threats due to chemical contamination in the reservoirs have become increasingly serious and directly related to industrial development. The contamination of water by phenol has been recognized as an issue of growing importance in recent years. The presence of phenols in wastewater is potentially toxic to human, aquatic and microorganism life. Phenol is well known human carcinogen and is of considerable health concern, even at low concentration. Among various contaminants, phenol and its derivatives [1] are found in many industrial wastewaters, such as coal conversion process, coke ovens, petroleum refineries, phenolic resin manufacturing, herbicide manufacturing, and petrochemicals, textile, and paper and dye industries as well as in a wide variety of industrial wastes from process involving the use of phenol derivatives resembling those of phenol [1]. There are requirements of efficient treatment systems, which could meet the regulated Manuscript received, July 17, 2011; revised September 22, 2011. R.M. Abhang and Deepak Kumar, are with the Department of Chemical Engineering, Sir Visvesvaraya Institute of Technology, Chincholi, Nashik, (M.S.) India. (Corresponding author: Phone: +919604763202. E-mail: abhang387@yahoo.com). S. V. Taralkar is with the Department of Chemical Engineering, MAEER, Maharashtra Academy of Engineering, Alandi, Pune (M.S.-India) (Email: suyogkumartaralkar@yahoo.co.in. Phone: +919011332500). standards and economic constraints. In general, there are various processes to treat industrial wastewater containing those organic compounds. However, it is well recognized that phenolic compounds are difficult to be removed by conventional methods, which would be biological decomposition or adsorption by granular activated carbon. Hence catalytic oxidation systems [2] have been proposed by various research teams as proper alternative methods which include some advantages, such as non-toxicity, insolubility and high activity. Photo catalysts with sufficient light irradiation have been used for the decomposition of waste materials, pollutants, and harmful bacteria [3]. A successful implementation of photocatalysis requires very efficient catalysts, illumination sources and reactors. In addition, auxiliary equipment for photocatalytic reactors is of major importance to assess the effectiveness of the reactor and of the kinetic reactor modelling [2]. This requires proper characterization of the UV used, in the case of artificially powered photocatalytic reactors [2] and the characterization of the photons absorbed in the photocatalytic reactors. The main objective of this research was to design the photocatalytic reactor & analyze the reactor performance by photocatalytic degradation of phenol in the presence of UV and catalyst ‘TiO 2 ’ is in the fluidized state and investigation of the role of main factors that affecting the process. II. PHOTO CATALYTIC REACTOR A. Photocatalyst A photocatalyst is defined as a substance that is activated by the absorption of a photon and helps to accelerate a reaction, without being consumed. The Titanium dioxide TiO 2 owing to its special properties is the most frequently used photocatalyst in water and air purification processes. TiO 2 is relatively cheap, non-toxic, insoluble in water and very resistant to most chemicals. It shows the highest photocatalytic activity and resistance to so-called anodic photo corrosion. Additionally, the photocatalytic processes on titanium dioxide [4] can be also initiated by solar radiation. B. Design Aspects of Photocatalytic Reactor The reactor was designed on the basis of fluidized bed concept, with three phase contact pattern and also maximizing the UV irradiation area. The development of water and air treatment systems based on heterogeneous photo catalysis is an area of major technical importance [5]. The design of highly efficient photo-catalytic systems is of vital interest and one of the most desirable yet challenging goals [6],[7] in the research of environmentally friendly Design of Photocatalytic Reactor for Degradation of Phenol in Wastewater R. M. Abhang, Deepak Kumar and S. V. Taralkar International Journal of Chemical Engineering and Applications, Vol. 2 , No. 5 , October 2011 337