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December 12, 2003
By: Holly Rebekah
Website: http://www.water-purification-filters.com
Black & Veatch leads AwwaRF research on large-scale application of UV disinfection
Black & Veatch Corporation,
a leading global engineering, consulting and construction company, announced
today that it has been awarded a contract for a major study of ultraviolet
light (UV) disinfection for large drinking water treatment plants by
the American Water Works Association Research Foundation (AwwaRF), which
is sponsored by approximately 1,000 U.S. and international drinking
water utilities.
Although an increasing number of large utilities view UV disinfection
as an effective, economical way to inactivate pathogens such as Cryptosporidium,
very few large-scale UV drinking water installations exist. The project
will identify, evaluate and recommend methodologies to address needs
specific to UV installations that require reactors larger than those
that can currently be validated by full-scale testing. Although the
research will largely focus on plants that require UV reactors with
capacities greater than 25 million gallons per day, it will benefit
smaller facilities as well.
Black & Veatch will conduct the research jointly with Dr. Joel
Ducoste of North Carolina State University and Dr. Karl Linden of Duke
University as well as a team of researchers supporting their efforts.
Participating organizations include NSF International, UV disinfection
system manufacturers and some of the largest utilities in North America
and Europe.
"A methodology that ensures adequate performance and adequate
scale-up prediction is imperative for the use of UV technology in large
treatment facilities," said AwwaRF Senior Project Manager Albert
Ilges. "The collaboration of several water utilities, Black and
Veatch, AwwaRF, and other drinking water organizations is testimony
to the high priority of this research."
Critical issues include installation, operation and maintenance of
UV systems; validation and monitoring of UV systems using computational
fluid dynamic models; and operation during emergency conditions. A resulting
CD-ROM program will enable utilities to determine the applicability
of UV for their systems, identify best design and operation practices
and methods and predict UV performance for treatment plants with high
flows.
Other AwwaRF applied research projects through which Black & Veatch
is demonstrating technology leadership include comparison of treatment
performance of ozone followed by medium-pressure ultraviolet (UV) lights
with that of medium-pressure UV alone; evaluation of MIEX process impacts
on treated water quality for a range of raw water supplies; examination
of technical and societal issues associated with chloramination; international
assessment of the water industry’s experience with integrated membrane
filtration into existing treatment plants; and examination of the implications
of retention time on water quality in distribution systems.
"The use of UV technologies for disinfection offers tremendous
promise in the delivery of safe drinking water, but the industry needs
a better understanding of the issues involved in large-scale application,”
said Americas Division (Water Sector) President Dan McCarthy. "As
a global treatment technology leader, Black & Veatch is well-suited
to the task at hand and excited about the opportunity to work with an
esteemed team of UV and operations experts on this important AwwaRF
project.”
Additional News, see water filter.
Author Notes:
Holly Rebekah contributes and publishes news editorial to http://www.water-purification-filters.com.
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