UV Disinfection in

Drinking Water Treatment:

35 years of global experience

Paul Buijs

Berson: the company

• Founded 1972

– based in Nuenen, The Netherlands

– a HALMA group company since 1988

• Focus on innovation

– 1980 Introduction Medium Pressure UV

– 1995 Introduction InLine®-concept

– 2000 Introduction UltraWipe

– 2010 Introduction Summit®-concept

– 2011 Introduction Cyclops®-concept

– 2012 Introduction UltraWipe+

Berson: global and local

• Global presence:

– 95% export – worldwide:

• Europe, United States

• Asia, Australia, New Zealand

• South Amerika

• Local approach:

– sales offices in PRC, US and UK

– network of sales- and service partners

– range of validations: DVGW, USEPA,

NWRI, JWRC

Over 17.000 units sold worldwide through

local distributorsEurope:

- Netherlands

- Belgium

- Luxembourg

- France

- Spain

- Portugal

- Italy

- Greece

- Germany

- Poland

- Switzerland

- Austria

- Turkey

- Bulgaria

Asia:

- South Korea

- Japan

- Taiwan

- Hong Kong

- Singapore

- China

- Brunei

- Malaysia

The Americas:

- Canada

- USA

- Mexico

- Brazil

- Argentina

- Chile

- Aruba Africa:

- Egypt

- Tunesia

- South Africa

- Zimbabwe

- Slovenia

- Croatia

- Bosnia

- Hungary

- Denmark

- Norway

- Iceland

- UK

- Sweden

- Finland

- Ukraine

- Cyprus

- Czech Rep

Pacific:

- Australia

- New Zealand

Middle East:

-Turkey

- Israel

- Kuwait

- Saudi Arabia

- Bahrain

- Iran

- UAE

- Iraq

Milestones in drinking water (1)

• 1674: Antonie van Leeuwenhoek (NL)– Tradesman and father of microbiology

– Relation between water and health: Giardia

• 1854: John Snow (UK)– First epidemiologist (Cholera London)

– Introduction of slow sand filters

• 1945-1970: rebuild and expand infrastructure (after WWII)

Milestones in drinking water (2)

• 1976: Joop Rook (NL)

– Discovery of THM as byproduct of chlorination

– Abandon chlorination in the Netherlands

– Start of intensive studies into organic micropolutants

– Introduction of carbon filters

– Introduction of UV

• 1993: Milwaukee Cryptosporidiosis Outbreak

– 403.000 people ill (50% of consumers)

– 104 people died

– US$96.2M costs (excluding water plant upgrade)

– Final proof chlorination is not sufficient!

– Introduction of UV in drinking water USA

Recent Crypto outbreak UK

• 6 August 2015, Lancashire UK

• 300,000 homes affected

• Boiling drinking water beforeconsumption

• No casualties

• Resolved 6 September 2015

• >US$20M to be paid in damages

• Costs cannot be reclaimed throughwater tarrif!

Mechanism of UV Disinfection

• UV light damages DNA:

– Bonds between nucleotide bases broken

– DNA will not replicate

• Bacteria will not die, just not replicate:

– Viable, non-culturable state

DNA before exposure

Effects of UV irradiation on DNA

DNA after exposure

Reasons to use UV

1. Safe water

• Protection against chlorine

resistant pathogens

Cryptosporidium

Giardia

2. No disinfection by-products

Source: Hu, 2007

3. UV is the green alternative!

Source: Hu, 2007

First Berson UV in Drinking Water

• Elimination of bacteria after

activated carbon filtration (1979)

Were to integrate UV?

• Does not replace breakpoint chlorination!

• Most effective as a final step before CWR:– Highest UVT

– Lowest turbidity, TSS, counts

• Satellite treatment to be considered:– Close to critical consumers

• Transport chlorination:– Minimum level of chlorine at tap (0.1 ppm)

– Abandoned in large parts of NW-Europe

Case Aruba:

Preserve the Balashi taste!

• 2001: Legionella problems

• Aruba has the best tasting water

in the world:

– No chlorine taste and odour

– Perfect mineral balance

– Highly satisfied customers

– Also used for Balashi brewery

Chemical desinfection should be

avoided to preserve the great

Balashi taste!

Measures(Harm Veenendaal and Paul Buijs, Kiwa 2001)

• Closed remineralizing filter

– Calcite

• Apply UV disinfection

– Central: after RSF

– Satellite: after tanks

– At critical end users:

• Hospital

• Cruise terminal

• Airport

• Hotels and resorts

• Result: end of problem

sea

MSF

aeration

remin

RSF

tanksdistribution

distribution

UV central

UV satUV end

UV end

now SWRO

now eliminated

Implementation

• Central:

– 5 x Berson InLine 1000

– 40 mJ/cm²

• Satellite:

– 2 x Berson InLine 450

– 40 mJ/cm²

• End users:

– InLine 50 (Hospital)

– InLine 450 (airport)

– InLine 5000 (Valero refinery)

– Royal Dutch Navy Base

– 6 x ProLine LP (hotels)

Type : Inline 1500

Number units : 5

Configuration : parallel, after nanofil-

tration riverwater

Capacity : 180,000 m3/day

Location : Paris, France

Chlorine : 0.1 ppm (by law)

Drinking water Méry-sur-Oise (France)

Type : InLine28000+

(DVGW- certified)

Number units : 4

Configuration : parallel

Flow : 208,800m3/day

T10 : 97%

Location : Basel, Switzerland

Year : 2010

Chlorine : no!

Drinking water Basel (Switzerland)

Type : Inline 15000+ DVGW

Number units : 4 (NW750 flanges)

Configuration : parallel

Capacity : 1200m3/h/street

UVT : 85%

Location : Gelsenwasser

Essen, Germany

Chlorine : no!

Drinking Water Essen (Germany)