h2o.UV
Ultraviolet Light Disinfection
UV Disinfection: Advantages
The concept of working with ultraviolet UV light has significant advantages over the use of biocidal chemicals, as well as some limitations.
The main advantage is that it is harmless to the environment, be it the medium itself (water), the environment and/or living beings.
UV disinfection does not generate by-products and, for obvious reasons, does not damage either the materials of the hydraulic installations themselves or, much less, the environment.
It is also capable of inactivating microorganisms such as Cryptosporidium or Giardia, which are resistant to chlorine. Actually, UV light is highly effective against the vast majority of microorganisms.
Finally, disinfecting by UV light makes any transport, storage and handling of toxic or corrosive chemicals unnecessary. Nor is there any need for ongoing chemical purchasing management, packaging management or the establishment of safety protocols as strict as those required when handling chemicals.
UV disinfection: Limitations
Like any tool, UV disinfection has its limitations.
To achieve the intended disinfection, what is known as the “shadow effect” must be avoided: excessive turbidity of the water may prevent UV radiation from reaching the microorganisms, which are protected by the particulate matter in whose shadow they are located.
It also does not have a biocidal “residual effect” that accompanies the water on its journey to the point of consumption.
And finally, there are sometimes reported cases where micro-organisms inactivated by UV light have shown some ability to repair or reconstitute denatured genetic material, recovering their ability to replicate and proliferate, although this can be solved by ensuring the corresponding doses of radiation for safe UV disinfection.
UV Disinfection: Costs and Comparative Costs
The operating costs of ultraviolet UV light equipment are limited to the replacement of consumables (annual replacement of UV lamps), energy consumption (defined in the technical characteristics of each piece of equipment), the frequency of internal cleaning operations and, above all, of the quartz tubes that protect the UV lamps (conditioned by the quality of the water to be irradiated), and the few hours recommended for checking the good condition of the equipment.
On the other hand, and as mentioned above, there are no operating costs, mainly associated with labour, caused by transport, storage, handling of toxic or corrosive chemicals, management of the continuous purchase of chemical products, management of packaging, permanent monitoring of safety protocols, etc., to which we must add the daily control of the dosing system and its maintenance.
h2o.UV What makes us different?
h2o.UV systems for ultraviolet disinfection use UV-C light radiation with 254 nm. This is quite standard, apart from the fact that we use German-made lamps which guarantee a long life and maximum reliability and stability of performance.
Designed with industrial use in mind, the body of our UV equipment is made of stainless steel, and plastic polymers, which can themselves be affected by internal UV radiation, have been discarded. But, above all, our electrical and electronic technology meets the working standards of the most demanding countries in this field, such as the Scandinavian countries, the United Kingdom, Austria and Germany, among others.
This quality ensures the best performance and excellent results making our products as exceptional.
But what makes us different is that our UV solutions are not only limited to UV treatment itself, we provide our customers with complete and sustainable solutions for their water treatment problems. All they have to do is ask us.
Reactor images h2o.UV
Alternative solutions to h2o.UV
If what is desired is not a simple disinfection, but an improvement of the water quality by eliminating its organic matter content, the natural evolution is our h2o.TITANIUM reactors:
equipment for water treatment of all kinds.
A cylindrical monobloc of titanium dioxide designed to eliminate the organic compounds contained in water by generating hydroxyl radicals (·OH).
No use of chemicals. No by-products. A clean technology. A product that definitely contributes to sustainability.