Fundamentals and Applications of UV-LED Photoreactors for Water Treatment

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Ultraviolet (UV) irradiation has emerged in the past few years as one of the best water purification alternatives. The ultraviolet light emitting diode (UV-LED) is a new technology that has recently experienced rapid improvements and new possible applications. These advances create the opportunity for the development of novel LED-based water purifiers. In fact, UV-LEDs could potentially revolutionize water treatment systems by replacing traditional UV mercury lamps. In the proposed research program, we plan to discover how certain unique features of UV-LEDs can be utilized to significantly improve water purification. We will study the fundamentals of UV-LEDs for water treatment and their application in the development of novel UV-LED reactors. We will further investigate the impact of several unique characteristics of UV-LEDs, which are likely to result in much more efficient methods of water purification. Furthermore, we will simulate, optimize, and design original UV-LED reactors that offer the precise control of both the fluidic and optical environments to achieve superior reactor performance. Finally, we will fabricate and operate UV-LED reactor prototypes to identify the capabilities and limitations of this emerging technology for water purification as well as its potential for applications where UV reactors have never before been used. The principal investigator has over fifteen years of experience in the development of UV reactors for water treatment in both the industry and in academia. He has initiated and established a strong research program at UBC that focuses on the development of UV reactors for water purification in collaboration with industrial partners. We expect this research to result in the development of the next generation of UV reactors with high efficiency and special features that are currently unavailable in UV-lamp reactors and other incumbent technologies. The students trained during this program will be highly qualified to lead world-class research and development activities in the Canadian water and environmental industries. Canada is a world leader in the development of UV water purification reactors, and Canadian companies play a significant role in marketing UV-based water treatment systems. As a result, we are in an excellent position to exploit and benefit from this technology and from the training of highly qualified researchers in this field. This research program applies an emerging technological opportunity to an important social issue. Growing concern over the waterborne diseases in numerous remote and small communities has driven demand for new water treatment systems to meet their special needs. The proposed research program plans to address this demand by advancing the field of UV-based water purification through the development of efficient and compact UV-LED reactors, which will operate at low power and are practically maintenance-free.