title: Comparison of ultraviolet light-emitting diodes and low-pressure mercury-arc lamps for disinfection of water.
abstract: Ultraviolet (UV) light-emitting diodes (LEDs) emitting at 260 nm were evaluated to determine the inactivation kinetics of bacteria, viruses, and spores compared to low-pressure (LP) UV irradiation. Test microbes were Escherichia coli B, a non-enveloped virus (MS-2), and a bacterial spore (Bacillus atrophaeus). For LP UV, 4-log10 reduction doses were: E. coli B, 6.5 mJ/cm(2); MS-2, 59.3 mJ/cm(2); and B. atrophaeus, 30.0 mJ/cm(2). For UV LEDs, the 4-log10 reduction doses were E. coli B, 6.2 mJ/cm(2); MS-2, 58 mJ/cm(2); and B. atrophaeus, 18.7 mJ/cm(2). Microbial inactivation kinetics of the two UV technologies were not significantly different for E. coli B and MS-2, but were different for B. atrophaeus spores. UV LEDs at 260 nm are at least as effective for inactivating microbes in water as conventional LP UV sources and should undergo further development in treatment systems to disinfect drinking water.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Civil, Environmental, and Architectural Engineering , University of Colorado Boulder , Boulder , CO , USA.
authors.forename: Kari A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Sholtes
authors.affiliation: b Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Gillings School of Global Public Health , University of North Carolina Chapel Hill , Chapel Hill , NC , USA.
authors.forename: Kincaid
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Lowe
authors.affiliation: b Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Gillings School of Global Public Health , University of North Carolina Chapel Hill , Chapel Hill , NC , USA.
authors.forename: Glenn W
authors.initials: GW
authors.lastname: Walters
authors.affiliation: b Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Gillings School of Global Public Health , University of North Carolina Chapel Hill , Chapel Hill , NC , USA.
authors.forename: Mark D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Sobsey
authors.affiliation: a Department of Civil, Environmental, and Architectural Engineering , University of Colorado Boulder , Boulder , CO , USA.
authors.forename: Karl G
authors.initials: KG
authors.lastname: Linden
authors.affiliation: c School of Public Health , Georgia State University , Atlanta , GA , USA.
authors.forename: Lisa M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Casanova
mesh_terms: D060766:Drinking Water / Q000032:analysis / Q000382:microbiology / Q000821:virology; D008628:Mercury; D014466:Ultraviolet Rays; D018508:Water Purification / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D060766:Drinking Water; D008628:Mercury
keywords: LED; Ultraviolet; disinfection; drinking water; viruses