The current practice of using chlorine gas for the disinfection of our wastewater effluent plants, possesses several safety and environmental concerns. In an effort to eliminate these concerns, the Company standard has been revised to discourage the use of chlorine gas in wastewater facilities and to evaluate other alternatives. The objectives of this pilot plant study are to investigate whether the use of ultraviolet (UV) radiation is an acceptable alternative to chlorine gas or sodium hypochlorite disinfection systems and to monitor microbiological activities during the test period to determine the efficacy of UV versus chlorine. Sodium hypochlorite systems are safer than chlorine gas, but they are less cost effective to install and operate. This paper evaluates UV disinfection process to determine whether it is a viable option for wastewater plants and addresses monitoring procedures for microbiological activity in wastewater. It also evaluates options for controlling the scaling that is expected with high TDS local wastewater and determines the cost effectiveness of this type of disinfection method.
Keywords: UV, wastewater system, chlorine gas, microbiological activity