Chlorine and combined chlorine compounds are oxidizing agents which generate undesirable by-products and have harmful effects on industrial processes. In high purity water treatment systems, the presence of chlorine and chloramines can lead to the deterioration of treatment systems such as ion exchange beds and RO membranes.

Traditional treatment methods for the removal of chlorine and chloramines include adsorption by Granular Activated Carbon (GAC) or by addition of chemicals such as sodium metabisulfite.

Activated carbon beds are susceptible to microbial growth and vulnerable to break-through, which can lead to serious contamination and costly downtime on manufacturing processes.

Sodium metabisulfite generates undesirable reaction by-products in process water which can create perfect conditions for microbial growth in RO membranes and adds critical load on downstream treatment units such as deionizers. This can result in a significant increase in operating, service and maintenance costs for ion-exchange, DI and RO systems, all used for high purity and ultrapure water production and processes.

However, UV technology is becoming increasingly popular for the destruction of chlorine and chloramine compounds in industrial applications. This is mainly due to, on one hand, the increased overall costs associated with traditional methods and, on the other hand, on the improved performance of UV lamp technologies and UV reactors design.

Positioning UV systems before GAC and RO systems, for instance, has been shown to reduce overall operating, service and maintenance costs without generation of residuals or affecting taste and odor. The use of UV treatment significantly helps increasing the time between cleaning cycles, and extending the life of both the activated carbon and the RO membranes.

Due to its undisputable success and efficiency in destroying chlorine and chloroamines and TOC in water, ESCO International was again awarded a contract to design and supply UV systems for an industrial plant in Eastern Europe. The scope of supply included eight UV systems for chloramines and TOC reduction. The TOC UV systems (4 units) were installed along with two pass RO and EDI systems, treating a total process water flow rate of 140 m3/h. The design calls for TOC reduction from 800 ppb down to below 100 ppb.  The four (4) chloramines UV systems were designed to treat 120 m3/h of process water containing 2 mg/l of chloramines down to below 0.2 mg/l.

ESCO International provides advanced solutions for water disinfection and oxidative destruction of organic pollutants, Endocrine Disrupting Compounds (EDCs), pharmaceutical products, COD, TOC and VOCs reduction.

Our comprehensive selection of treatment technologies and solutions include high output amalgam UV systems; medium pressure UV systems; ozone generator skid systems; engineered advanced oxidation processes (AOP); design & supply of ozone and AOP pilot plants and laboratory services.

For Professional solutions please contact us on +44 (0) 1492 584140 or info@escouk.com or www.escouk.com