From large industries to simple household equipment, UV has been used in water treatment. But what does an ultraviolet lamp do?

We all know that light has different spectra that are invisible to us; these range from infrared light to gamma rays. Within these light spectra, there is a range called UV, which, just the last century, was discovered that it is for batteries, what radioactivity is for us. Since it destroys the genetic information of microorganisms, bacteria, and some viruses so microorganisms that are exposed to a light frequency, with a certain intensity and at a specific time, become sterilized and, in some cases, even roasted. And here is the fact that we must keep in mind. The UV rays of a sterilizer prevents bacteria and viruses from reproducing, very different from a UV biocide, whose purpose is to kill these microorganisms.

What Bacteria And Viruses Affect UV

It usually depends on the equipment, size, and brand. But good brands often have a visible catalog of all microorganisms that affect their equipment.

Interesting Fact: UV lamp (หลอด uvc which is the term in Thai) usually works where chlorine does not. Some bacteria are immune to chlorine because they have a shell that inhibits the oxidation effect that chlorine produces.

UV Limitations

One of the limitations of UV is that it only acts on what goes through the camera, and if there is recontamination at the exit of the camera, the UV no longer works. Unlike chlorine, since it is in contact with water all the time, it does not have this limitation.

To exemplify this, we attended a laboratory that complained about our UV sterilizer because it didn’t work. It had a valve connected to a PVC pipe that went to an outlet where he took his samples (it should be clarified that the valve and the PVC pipe were after the UV equipment). The valve was large and had air intakes, PVC is not recommended because it is porous, it allows bacteria to be fixed there and reproduce.