Control system cuts water disinfection costs

Pharmaceutical manufacturer GSK has reduced operating costs at one of its UK production facilities by installing Photon control systems for its Hanovia ultraviolet (UV) water disinfection units.

Pharmaceutical manufacturer GSK has reduced operating costs at one of its UK production facilities by installing Photon control systems for its Hanovia ultraviolet (UV) water disinfection units.

According to the company's Fine Chemicals Engineering Manager: "Since installing the Photon controllers our engineers only have to change the lamps in the UV disinfection units when the dose falls below a predetermined level, rather than arbitrarily every 13 weeks, as they did before.

This brings with it both cost and efficiency benefits".

Providing data-logging facilities which ensure full traceability of all disinfection procedures, the microprocessor-driven Photon systems monitor all significant disinfection parameters at once, including UV dose, UV intensity and lamp hours run.

At the facility, raw water from the towns mains supply is filtered and treated with UV before entering the primary circulation loop storage tank.

This feeds the purified water ring main (secondary loop), which is also treated with UV.

The units are continuous-running, except during the nightly sanitisation, and treat a maximum water flow of 0.75m3/h.

UV works by penetrating the cell walls of micro-organisms and destroying their DNA.

It has a kill rate greater that 99.99% and is effective against all known micro-organisms including bacteria, viruses, fungi and their spores.

Hanovia UV systems also remove chemical contaminants in the water by photolysis.

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