Lighting the Way
Ultraviolet disinfection is the "green" way to clean water, and ITT has a new product -- Spektron -- that outshines the competition.
Clean water customers are seeing the light. With environmental awareness and regulatory pressures on the rise, municipalities that provide drinking water to their residents and companies who need pure water for their products are turning to ultraviolet (UV) light equipment as their preferred disinfection treatment technology.
The UV market is experiencing double-digit annual growth because it offers numerous benefits. UV technologies eliminate harmful bacteria by zapping the water with ultraviolet light, disrupting the DNA of the microorganisms so they can’t reproduce. It gets the job done with no chemicals, no dangerous byproducts and no more expensive price tags.
As the cost of UV equipment has dropped, customers -- including municipal drinking water plants, private drinking water providers, and companies that use water as an ingredient for their foods, drinks or pharmaceuticals -- are taking a closer look at UV light solutions.
And now, ITT has come up with a UV product that outshines the competition.
The innovative new Spektron UV disinfection system is being manufactured in ITT's plant in Herford, Germany and sold under the Wedeco brand name. Ranging in size from seven inches (19cm) to 40 inches (1m) in diameter, this line of UV reactors introduces an elbow configuration so customers can easily fit it into vertical or horizontal spaces. It also features ITT's patented CrossMix flow control technology that ensures even and efficient treatment of the water.
"In many traditional installations, the configuration of the inlet and outlet piping causes water to flow asymmetrically through the reactor. As a result, the UV treatment is less effective," explains Glen Trickle, vice president and director of treatment engineering and technology for ITT's Water & Wastewater business. "The CrossMix straightens the water flow, thereby allowing the Spektron to operate at a higher efficiency. The result is pathogen-free disinfected water at a significantly lower lifecycle cost."
Spektron was designed to meet the very strict drinking water regulations in Germany, Austria and Scandinavia, and is currently being marketed in these three regions. Customers install it as part of the water treatment process -- sometimes following a filtration step – and depending on the quality of the water, very often there is no need for further treatment after it passes through the Spektron UV reactor.
For drinking water applications, some customers might still decide to dose the water with chlorine as an added safety measure for their distribution system. But Spektron allows them to reduce the chemical loading and does the heavy lifting in terms of disinfection.
The product helps further enhance ITT's place as a global water leader, says Trickle.
"It gives customers a cost-effective product that makes sense for their business and a chemical-free treatment solution that makes sense for our environment."
The new Spektron UV reactor features an innovative “elbow” connection and the patented CrossMix technology for more efficient water treatment.
