UVC pre-treatment options for phytoplankton and zooplankton in drinking water processing

生产清洁安全的饮用水是一个复杂的、多步骤的过程，受水源水质的影响很大。浮游植物和浮游动物可以在多个阶段干扰这一过程。例如，水源水中的藻类可能导致用于饮用水净化的膜被污染，还可能在水华爆发期间释放有毒化合物，进一步威胁饮用水的安全和可持续供应。同样，浮游动物会停留在进水口管道中，改变水流，从而增加运营成本。虽然特洛伊技术公司正在使用紫外线-C(UVC)处理来净化饮用水，但人们对紫外线-C作为水源水的预处理选项的有效性知之甚少。具体地说，目前尚不清楚紫外线照射能在多大程度上减少原水中浮游植物和浮游动物的繁殖，尤其是在多长时间内。然而，在评估UVC作为一种前处理选择时，这些参数是关键的，原因有两个：1)需要更多的研究来更好地了解UVC对生物体及其修复机制的影响；2)特洛伊技术公司对这个问题感兴趣，因为这将使他们能够在水处理的这一新方面将其UVC设备商业化。拟议的项目是海兰实验室和特洛伊技术公司之间的Engage and Engage Plus赠款的延续，特洛伊技术公司是使用紫外线(UV)光开发水处理解决方案的行业领先者。该项目将测试减少饮用水水源中浮游植物和浮游动物的新技术。具体地说，我们将调查紫外线作为水源水预处理的影响，并评估对选定浮游植物和浮游动物物种的寿命和存活的影响。UVC治疗的剂量响应将为UVC的这一新应用提供关键的见解，并使特洛伊技术公司能够评估其在行业规模应用中的效用。

Producing clean and safe drinking water is a complex and multi-step process that is affected significantly by source water quality. Phytoplankton and zooplankton can interfere with this process in multiple stages. For example, algae in source water can lead to fouling of membranes used in drinking water clean-up and can also release toxic compounds during bloom conditions, further threatening the safe and sustainable supply of drinking water. Similarly, zooplankton can settle in intake pipes and alter water flow, hence increasing operating costs. While Trojan Technologies is using Ultraviolet-C (UVC) treatment to clean-up drinking water, little is known about the efficacy of UVC as a pre-treatment option of source water. Specifically, it is unknown to what extent and especially for how long UVC treatment can reduce the propagation of phytoplankton and zooplankton in raw water. These parameters are critical, however, when assessing UVC as a pre-treatment option for two reasons: 1) More research is required to better understand the effect of UVC on organisms and their repair mechanisms and 2) Trojan Technologies is interested in this question as it would allow them to commercialize their UVC units in the context of this new aspect of water treatment. The proposed project is a continuation of an Engage and Engage PLUS grant between the Heyland lab and Trojan Technologies, an industry leader in the development of water treatment solutions using ultraviolet (UV) light. The project will test novel technology to reduce phytoplankton and zooplankton in drinking water sources. Specifically, we will investigate the effect of UVC as a source water pre-treatment and assess on the longevity and survival of selected phytoplankton and zooplankton species. Dose responses of UVC treatment will provide critical insights into this novel application of UVC and allow Trojan Technologies to assess its utility in industry scale applications.