Advances in Fluidized\nBed Photocatalysis: Bridging\nGaps, Standardizing Metrics, and Shaping Sustainable Solutions for\nEnvironmental Challenges

The uncontrolled release of pollutants has led to environmental\ndegradation and health problems. Photocatalysis has emerged as a promising\ntechnology to address environmental issues in a sustainable way. Fluidized\nbed reactors, in particular, offer superior photo-oxidation rates\nand higher mass transfer efficiency. Nonetheless, an analysis of publication\ntrends highlights a notable gap between growing interest in photocatalysis\nand the limited exploitation of fluidized bed systems. In this way,\nthis Review emphasizes the importance of standardized metrics in evaluating\nfluidized photocatalytic reactors, including space–time yield,\nphotocatalytic space–time yield, specific removal rate, and\nelectrical energy consumption per order. These metrics enable robust\ncomparisons, highlight knowledge gaps, and spur new research to advance\npollution abatement. Additionally, the Review provides insights into\ndesigning, developing, and optimizing fluidizable photocatalysis,\nstressing the necessity of specific physical characteristics for effective\nperformance. The evaluation based on benchmarks showed that UV-A LEDs\noutperformed lamps in energy consumption and photocatalytic performance.\nMicroreactors demonstrated high STY and PSTY values. Comparing studies\nsolely on one benchmark may yield biased results. Researchers often\noverlook synergistic effects, such as photocatalyst type, irradiation\nsource, and reactor design. Finally, combining advanced oxidative\nprocesses with photocatalysis efficiently enhanced the pollutant conversion\nrates.