Global population growth, urbanization and changing climate patterns have increased the demand for potable water, wastewater reuse and value recovery from wastewater, and treatment of industrial process water. Population growth also results in increased demand for the shipping of goods by ocean freight, with the associated risk of the transport of unwanted marine life from one location to another by the discharge of ballast water.

Demand for water and wastewater treatment has grown substantially in recent years, leading to a increased need for innovative technology. To remain a global leader in UV-based treatment technology, Trojan must continue to innovate through its intesive research and development program. One of Trojan's distinguishing features has been the rigorous analysis and testing that our products undergo during design, development and validation.

Conventional wastewater treatment process includes primary treatment (clarifier), secondary treatment (aeration tanks) and anaerobic digestion (AD) of primary sludge (PS) and waste activated sludge (WAS), followed by disposal of the bio-solids from of the AD process. It is estimated that the sludge treatmen/disposal processes account for approximately 40% of the costs for a wastewater treatment plant. Currently three main approaches are: land application, landfill disposal, and incineration/thermal technologies.

Ultraviolet (UV) photoreactors for water treatment comprise UV lamps encased in quartz sleeves, immersed in the water to be treated. Over time, these quartz sleeves become fouled with materials from the water, reducing the amount of UV available for treatment. This phenomenon requires that the systems be over-sized and often include costly automatic cleaning systems to restore system performance. This proposed project will study the molecular processes that result in fouling on the quartz surface, and investigate the effectiveness of anti-fouling coatings.