Photolysis

A new development of the Fraunhofer IGB concerning photolytic water treatment with exclusively short-wave UV radiation of 172 nm was implemented for the first time as an industrial prototype within the scope of the EU-funded project “Light4CleanWater” in cooperation with an international consortium of medium-sized companies. With a specially developed xenon-UV light source the new reactor system permits oxidative water treatment without the addition of chemical oxidative substances.

Oxidation with short-wave UV light of 172 nm

The short-wave, high-energy and homogenous UV radiation emitted by the xenon light source generates hydroxyl radicals direct from the water itself. These are mixed into the water flow efficiently by an innovative reactor geometry and in this way used up almost completely, so that in comparison to conventional AOP systems such as mercury UV lamps at 254 nm with the addition of hydrogen peroxide, better degradation results were achieved for all the organic substances contained in the water with, at the same time, improved energy efficiency.

Process control

For automated process control with the aim of complete decomposition we have developed a system in which a TOC online measuring system continuously measures the organic carbon content of the water and thus the degradation of the pollutants. A process control system evaluates this measurement signal and, using the results, the plants are operated or combined depending on the load