Water Treatment with Ultraviolet Lamps
In recent years researcher have being looking for ways to supplant the current water treatment (tratamiento de aguas in spanish) systems based in chlorine, with systems more efficient in terms of energy, and more effective in sanitation. The systems based in chlorine have the disadvantage that there are certain viruses that are hard to destroy with them, and the chlorine production has a high energy cost. From this new systems the one that has being gaining more popularity is the ultraviolet purification system.
The main advantage of the ultraviolet system is that they don’t introduce chemical substances in the water. It also don’t create subproducts, doesn’t change the water taste, pH, or other water properties. They are compatible with the current plumbing systems, they are easy to install and it’s maintenance cost is relatively low. Also, there are no know microorganisms resistant to UV rays.
The ultraviolet lamps create a radiation with an intensity a lot higher than the solar one. On most lamps, the radiation concentrates in the 254 nanometer region, because this is the light range that has the higher germicide properties. Most ultraviolet systems kill current microorganisms in water, but can’t remove them by themselves.
The ultraviolet systems use a lamp that is protected by a transparent cover. The lamp is mounted so that the water that passes through the chamber is exposed to the UV rays. The intense UV rays damage the DNA structure of the cells, this make them sterile and prevent their reproduction. These cells are considered then dead, and are no longer a treat. For more complex microorganisms, it’s advisable to use activated carbon filters before the lamps because the time necessary to kill them is longer and is not always achieved if the water flow is too fast.
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