There is a growing need to protect the world’s water supply from chemicals. Recent research has shown that a wide variety of chemicals exist at trace concentrations in streams, lakes, rivers, and in groundwater throughout the world.
The term “environmental contaminants” refers to chemicals present in soil, in air, and in water. These compounds may come directly from human sources such as industrial manufacturing, agricultural run-off, or wastewater discharge, or they may originate from natural sources, such as the taste- and odor-causing chemicals in water generated by algae and bacteria blooms.
A Growing List of Environmental Contaminants:
- 1,4-Dioxane
- Taste- and odor-causing compounds (e.g., geosmin and MIB)
- N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA)
- Pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs)
- Pesticides and herbicides
- Fuels and fuel additives (e.g., MTBE and BTEX)
- Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) like PCE and TCE
- Endocrine disruptor chemicals (EDCs)
- Algal toxins (e.g., Microcystin)
These compounds can be treated either by ultraviolet (UV) light alone or by UV light combined with oxidizing radicals, referred to as the UV advanced oxidation process (UV AOP).
Why UV AOP for Environmental Contaminants?
UV has been used successfully over the last century to treat drinking water and wastewater. That same technology is now applied to perform environmental contaminant treatment on a large-scale.
Cost-Effective
For certain contaminants, UV AOP is the only economical method of treatment. For example, NDMA and 1,4-dioxane cannot be fully treated with membrane technologies (including reverse osmosis), carbon adsorption, or air stripping.
Eliminates Residuals
UV AOP has the advantage of being a technology that breaks down contaminants into their elemental components. Other treatment technologies merely transfer the contaminant from one phase to another (e.g. air stripping: from water to air) – resulting in a potentially hazardous, contaminant-laden residual that requires further treatment or disposal.
Download PDF: TrojanUV Advanced Oxidation Solutions Brochure