Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
markets.
53
Although the US currently leads the market for use of UV in
water disinfection, regulations and recommendations are now increasingly
being made for its use within the UK water industry particularly now, with
the release of guidance for its use in public water supplies released by the
DWI in 2010.
UV disinfection has the advantage in that it is effective for treatment of
waterborne pathogens, such as
Cryptosporidium
, that are resistant to chlo-
rine and, when applied in conventional doses, has no known by-products
formed. This gives UV the advantage over chemical disinfectants such as
chlorine and ozone.
54
However, one negative in the use of UV for disinfec-
tion is that organic matter present in water can sometimes affect the trans-
mission of the UV and therefore reduce its efficiency.
52
This is a matter that
still needs to be addressed if UV use is to become more widespread.
Kiesel et al.
55
highlight a new development by PARC, a Xerox com-
pany that pioneers technology platforms, for assessing water quality. They
are developing a new, robust microfluidic platform to provide rapid identi-
fication and quantification of pathogens in water. The technique is expected
to enable “on-the-flow” detecting of pathogens with a high level of signal-
to-noise discrimination.
55
The company has assembled and tested a work-
ing prototype for their “microfluidic based flow cytometer”, which was
assembled at a total cost of less than $350.
55
Alternatively, several authors
have suggested developments to integrate systems and detect for multiple
pathogens in drinking water over the past few years. Girones et al. (2010)
suggest “DNA microarray” technologies are likely to be the basis for this
sort of test. It is believed that if this technology could be coupled with
PCR amplification techniques, the sensitivity of signal detectors could be
increased by up to 106-fold.
56
The Aqua Research Collaboration (ARC) is also in the process of devel-
oping new systems for improving water quality. Their vision is to develop
“membrane technology” focusing on hybrid technologies to improve water
quality through rejecting of micro pollutants and enhancing the biological
stability of drinking water.
57
Membrane technology plays a role in remov-
ing pathogens as well as particles and organic matter to help improve water
quality. There is currently a huge market for methods using high-pressure
membranes, with Global Water Intelligence indicating that there is a $450
million market in desalination worldwide, and that is expected to double by
2016. ARC is keen to develop these technologies further as the use of mem-
branes, such as for ultrafiltration, is one of the fastest growing sectors within
water treatment.
57
Likewise, they are looking to improve water quality
Search WWH ::
Custom Search