Comparative Study of UV Radiation Resistance and Reactivation Characteristics of E. coli ATCC 8739 and Native Strains: Implications for Water Disinfection

Paola Duque-Sarango (), Leonardo Romero-Martínez, Verónica Pinos-Vélez, Esteban Sánchez-Cordero and Esteban Samaniego
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Paola Duque-Sarango: Grupo de Investigación en Recursos Hídricos (GIRH-UPS), Universidad Politécnica Salesiana, Campus El Vecino, Calle Vieja 12-30 y Elia Liut, Cuenca 010203, Ecuador
Leonardo Romero-Martínez: Departamento de Tecnologías del Medio Ambiente, Facultad de Ciencias del Mar y Ambientales, INMAR—Instituto Universitario de Investigación Marina, CEIMAR—Campus de Excelencia Internacional del Mar, Universidad de Cádiz, Campus de Puerto Real, 11510 Puerto Real, Spain
Verónica Pinos-Vélez: Departamento de Recursos Hídricos y Ciencias Ambientales, Eco-Campus Balzay, Av. Víctor Manuel Albornoz, Universidad de Cuenca, Cuenca 010203, Ecuador
Esteban Sánchez-Cordero: Departamento de Ingeniería Civil, Universidad de Cuenca, Cuenca 010203, Ecuador
Esteban Samaniego: Departamento de Recursos Hídricos y Ciencias Ambientales, Eco-Campus Balzay, Av. Víctor Manuel Albornoz, Universidad de Cuenca, Cuenca 010203, Ecuador

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 12, 1-12

Abstract: In certain countries where fresh water is in short supply, the effluents from wastewater treatment plants are being recycled for other uses. For quality assurance, tertiary disinfection treatments are required. This study aims to evaluate the inactivating efficacy with an ultraviolet (UV) system on fecal bacteria from effluents of urban wastewater treatment facilities and the post-treatment influence of the environmental illumination. The effect from different UV doses was determined for native and standardized lyophilized strains of Escherichia coli right after the irradiation as well as after 24 h of incubation under light or dark conditions. To achieve 3 log-reductions of the initial bacterial concentration, a UV dose of approximately 12 mJ cm −2 is needed for E. coli ATCC 8739 and native E. coli . However, there is a risk of the reactivation of 0.19% and 1.54% of the inactivated organisms, respectively, if the treated organisms are stored in an illuminated environment. This suggests that the post-treatment circumstances affect the treatment success; storing the treated water under an illuminated environment may pose a risk even if an effective inactivation was achieved during the irradiation.

Keywords: wastewater reuse; ultraviolet disinfection; flow-through UV reactor; photoreactivation; Escherichia coli (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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