Disinfection Performance Testing Of High-Efficiency Ultraviolet Water Treatment Chamber

By J. R. Cooper, Ph. D. and Gwynne Cavender, NeoTech Aqua Solutions, Inc.

When introducing a disinfection product which incorporates new technology, it is essential that the methods and testing used to quantify the performance of those systems follow protocols which are technically sound and which are accepted by the scientific and technical community within the industry. These protocols must be applied precisely and rigorously in order to ensure accurate, repeatable results. The data generated from experiments following these protocols must be carefully analyzed using proper statistical approaches. These analyses must account for variances due to changes in the product’s performance as it ages, tolerances of measurement equipment, and the natural uncertainties associated with the dose-response characteristics of microorganisms. All of these items must be properly addressed for the rating of the product to be accurately determined.

This paper describes the methodology used to verify the rated performance of NeoTech Aqua’s “D” series of ultraviolet reactors for water purification. Also included is a description of the protocol which was followed for testing the units, a description of the equipment used for testing, the results obtained during the water disinfection characterization tests, and a description of the method for determining the rating of the reactors from the data collected. The information in the sections below details how the experiments and analysis of the results performed address the requirements for an accurate product rating.

This is the second in a series of three white papers describing the design and performance of the NeoTech Aqua ReFlex™ treatment chamber. The first describes in detail the theoretical basis for the very high efficiency demonstrated by the chamber. The third paper describes how this chamber design leads to some highly desirable operational advantages beyond just energy ad cost reduction.