Ultraviolet (UV) Light Definition
Ultraviolet (UV) light invisible human eye, and it occupies the electromagnetic spectrum between X-rays and visible light.
The sun emits ultraviolet light; however, the earth’s ozone layer absorbs much of it. A unique feature of UV light is a specific range of its wavelengths, between 200 and 300 nanometers (one billionth of a meter).
And it classifies as germicidal it inactivate microorganisms such as bacteria, viruses, and protozoa.
This ability allows the widespread adoption of UV light as an environmentally friendly, chemical-free, and highly effective way to disinfect and protect water from harmful microorganisms.
What are the Cost Benefits of Ultraviolet (UV) Light Disinfection?
- The operating costs of UV disinfection determined the annual replacement of lamps and electricity consumption.
- UV light eliminates or reduces the immediate safety hazard posed by chlorine gas without creating new long-term costs associated with the use of chemicals, transportation, and distribution.
- And UV disinfection, costs for leak response, administration, risk management, and emergency planning and operator training are minimized and eliminated.
- And municipalities do not pay premiums for the significant safety benefits of UV disinfection.
What are the Advantages of Disinfection for Safety?
- It is a chemical-free process that does not add anything to the water except UV light. And UV light does not require the transport, storage, or handling of toxic or corrosive chemicals.
- It also represents the safety of plant operators and the surrounding population. UV treatment does not generate carcinogenic by-products of disinfection that can negatively affect water quality.
- UV disinfection is highly effective in inactivating various microorganisms, including chlorine-resistant pathogens such as Cryptosporidium and Giardia.
How Ultraviolet Disinfection Works?
- Unlike chemical water disinfection methods, UV radiation provides rapid and efficient inactivation of microorganisms through a physical process.
- Also, bacteria, viruses, and protozoa are exposed to UV light’s germicidal wavelengths and become unable to reproduce and infect.
- UV light shows effectiveness against pathogenic microorganisms, such as those causing cholera, polio, typhoid fever, hepatitis, and other bacterial, viral, and parasitic diseases.
- Additionally, it uses UV light (alone or in conjunction with hydrogen peroxide) to destroy chemical contaminants such as pesticides, industrial solvents, and drugs through UV oxidation.
- And microorganisms inactivated UV light as a result of nucleic acid damage. Cellular DNA and RNA absorb the high energy associated with short wavelength UV energy, mainly at 254 nm.
- This absorption of UV energy forms new bonds between adjacent nucleotides creating double bonds or dimers.
- The dimerization of adjacent molecules, especially thymine, constitutes the most frequent photochemical damage.
- And the formation of numerous thymine dimers in the DNA of bacteria and viruses prevents replication and the ability to infect.
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