Integrated Pulsed Ultraviolet Systems for Water Treatment and Disinfection

Chemical, food processing and pharmaceutical industries often struggle with the treatment of their highly polluted wastewaters. Persistent organic compounds are commonly the reason these effluents require special treatment. Biological treatment does only work above a certain volume, which is why, in many cases, additional chemicals are used for disinfection, causing further pollution of the environment. Classical UV-disinfection offers a mentionable alternative to biological treatment but requires turbidity-free water, which is why it must be cleared by membrane filtration beforehand and cannot guarantee sustained action as it only temporarily de-actives microorganisms. The main objective of the project was to develop a small and mobile compact treatment site using high-intensity pulsed UV continuum. Radiation is generated by xenon flash lamps with wavelengths continuously covering the entire UV spectrum from the boundary air transparency that essentially enables the resonant destructive effect on the molecules of different classes of organic compounds (hydrocarbons, phenols, pesticides, proteins, nucleic acids etc.) and on different types of spores, microorganisms and viruses. The broadband UV radiation causes a destructive effect simultaneously on all the vital structures of cells (nucleic acids, proteins, membranes, etc.). To allow wastewater treatment with the newly developed pulsed UV-technology, the UV-disinfection will be combined with a multiple-stage membrane filter technology. The technological innovation will result in treatment effectiveness and efficiency above the current state of the art, namely in a highly flexible wastewater treatment facility that is also smaller in size and cheaper compared to the currently known technologies. HYDROPHIL provided the following services within the research consortium: