Understanding UV Dose Distribution and Reactor Performance Using Bioassay Data

Ultraviolet (UV) disinfection has been widely applied for drinking water and wastewater treatments because of its effective inactivation of many waterborne pathogens and its minimal formation of disinfection by-products. All UV disinfection systems for public water services need validation to ensure their inactivation performances meet the regulation requirements. The most implemented method for validation is biodosimetry, which involves bioassay to yield a simplified UV dose value. This dose value is called reduction equivalent dose (RED). However, RED depends on not only the performance of the reactor but also the UV sensitivity of the type of microorganisms used in the test. Therefore, the RED for representing the performance of the reactor is actually the measured RED multiplied by a safety factor, which makes the reactor to be operated with higher energy. This research proposes a method using multiple types of testing microorganisms to reduce the safety factor and also develop a strategy about how to properly and efficiently select different types of testing microorganisms to better understand performances of UV disinfection systems.

Faculty Supervisor:

Dr. Ajay K. Ray

Student:

Po-Shun Chan

Partner:

Trojan Technologies

Discipline:

Engineering - chemical / biological

Sector:

Life sciences

University:

Western University