Design, hydrodynamic modeling and performance characterization of a low cost, non-concentrating type solar-collector-reactor has been presented in this article. The reactor comprises of interconnected parallel channels, which are open at the top to receive sunlight. Because of its modular structure, the reactor can be easily scaled up to any required size. The hydrodynamic features of the reactor were investigated using computational fluid dynamic simulation along with the standard residence time distribution analysis. Primary performance characterization study was conducted in solar photo-Fenton remediation of two model pollutants, namely Trypan blue dye and Dichlorvos pesticide. Under optimum parametric conditions of pH, FeSO4-H2O2 dosage ratio and inlet concentration, the primary pollutants were recorded to degrade by more than 94%, which clearly marks the efficacy of the proposed design. In addition to the simulated wastewater, the reactor performance was also tested in treatment of effluent obtained from jute dyeing unit, where 58% COD reduction was achieved.