Over a month-long pilot the Supercritical UV™ disinfection system treated 48 million litres of meat plant pond effluent at 3.5% ultraviolet transmittance, cutting E. coli from 6,893 to 265 cfu/100mL, below the local river average of 1,355.
A meat processing plant operates a multi-stage pond system for the treatment of their wastewater prior to irrigation or discharge into the local river. While pond systems can provide adequate treatment of solids and organics, disinfection performance is typically variable and highly dependent on climatic conditions.
A critical parameter for any UV disinfection system is the ultraviolet transmittance of the liquid being treated. For industrial pond effluent, UVT is consistently low, in this case typically less than 10%. Due to this, conventional ultraviolet disinfection was deemed infeasible without significant upstream treatment upgrades.
NovoLabs™ installed a pilot unit at the end of the pond system and operated across a month long evaluation. Over that period 48 million litres of wastewater with an average UVT of just 3.5% were treated.
The Supercritical UV™ system achieved effective disinfection of the meat plant pond effluent, reducing E.coli concentrations from average 6,893 cfu/100mL to 265 cfu/100mL. The local river average was 1,355 cfu/100mL.
