Application of Ultraviolet Technology in Water Treatment—Ozone Elimination

The advantages of using ultraviolet (UV) light to kill aquatic pathogens causing infectious diseases have been widely recognized. In fact, industry was one of the earliest pioneers in using this technology. Today, almost all industries apply UV technology to water treatment systems, including the food and beverage, pharmaceutical, cosmetics, health product, manufacturing, and high-tech industries. Sterilization and disinfection are the main applications of UV technology in water and wastewater treatment. At the same time, industry also applies this technology to many other areas, including ozone removal, reduction of total organic carbon (TOC), liquid sugar disinfection, chlorine degradation, surface and air disinfection, and cooling tower disinfection. This article will provide a brief overview of some of the industrial applications of UV light.

Ozone Removal

In industrial production, ozone is often used for disinfection and water purification. However, because ozone has a very strong oxidizing ability, residual ozone in water, if not removed, may affect subsequent processes. Therefore, ozone-treated water must usually have residual ozone removed before entering the main process flow. 254 nm wavelength UV light is very effective at destroying residual ozone, decomposing it into oxygen. Although different systems require different scales, generally speaking, a typical ozone removal system requires about three times the amount of ultraviolet radiation of a traditional sterilization system.