Ultraviolet Water Treatment, UV Water Treatment Systems >>

Res-Kem Corp. is a leading supplier of residential, commercial and industrial ultraviolet (UV) water treatment systems. Our UV purification systems are available in a variety of sizes and configurations to meet the needs of most water purification applications. For applications greater than 500 gpm, multiple UV water systems can be combined in series or parallel to meet the necessary flow requirements.

Res-Kem is a distributor for UltraDynamics® and UVSI Ultraviolet water disinfection systems. Res-Kem offers 254NM UV lights for bacteria control and 185NM UV lights for TOC control. Res-Kem can create a complete and efficient ultraviolet water treatment system by using a standard or non-traditional UVSI industrial UV light water treatment system customized for your application and installation.

Why use an Industrial UV Water Treatment System?

Ultraviolet (UV) light, specifically the 254 nm wavelength, is a powerful disinfectant. The chief advantages of using UV water systems over chemical treatment are:

1. No Residual Chemical or hazardous by-product at the end of the process.
2. UV water systems offer a “natural” and “green” choice for disinfection and purification of water.

An ultraviolet water purifier is a simple yet effective way to destroy microorganisms in water. A typical UV water treatment system uses an ultraviolet light to kill microorganisms, and may be combined with a water filter to trap these and other contaminants.

How does Ultraviolet Light Disinfect Water?

Short wave UV and Vacuum UV are able to penetrate the cell walls of microorganisms, and subsequently disrupt the cells in such a way as to prevent them from replicating. Microorganisms that are unable to replicate are unable to cause human infection or create damaging situations for manufactured products or processing equipment.

The primary mechanism by which UV inactivates microorganisms is the creation of Pyrimidine Dimers. These are bonds that are formed between adjacent pairs of thymin or cytosine pyrimidines on the same DNA or RNA strand. Once the dimmers are formed the microorganism is “locked up” and unable to reproduce.

The peak wavelengths for cellular penetration and disruption are in the range of 250 – 270 nm. This is why low pressure UV lamps with a peak output of 253.7 are so effective for disinfection purposes.

Options and Features of Res-Kem's Standard Ultraviolet Water Treatment Systems:

1. UV intensity monitor
2. Flow rate capacities from 1.5 to 1000 gallons per minute (GPM)
3. Flow control
4. Stainless steel reactor
5. Compact, single enclosure
6. Low power consumption
7. Automatic shut-off valve
8. Economical operation
9. Ease of maintenance access to UV lamps

Advantages of UVSI UV Water Systems

The drawback of traditional UV water systems is the stainless steel chamber. Although stainless steel meets stringent quality and strength requirements, it absorbs UV light energy. As much as 90% of the ultraviolet light emitted by the lamp is wasted because it is absorbed into the stainless steel housing. To get around this problem manufacturers have to pack the unit with multiple UV lamps, as many as 44 in one treatment chamber. Additionally, numerous chamber baffles are installed to ensure sufficient water mix for adequate UV light exposure.

The disadvantages of traditional UV water systems include:

1. Wasted UV energy
2. High Energy Costs
3. Multiple Lamps
4. Large foot print
5. High ongoing maintenance expense

Until now Res-Kem just offered traditional UV water systems to our customers. We are excited to offer an innovative, non-traditional UV light by Ultraviolet Sciences. This newly patented UV water system design addresses all of the disadvantages of the traditional UV water purifier.

Download Res-Kem Ultraviolet Systems Bulletin for 30-65 gpm flow rates
Download Res-Kem Ultraviolet Systems Bulletin for 100-500 gpm flow rates

Very Little UV Energy is Wasted

Traditional UV disinfection chambers lose better than 90% of their UV light energy into the outer wall. The treatment chambers of the UVSI light utilize a specially designed highly reflective flow tube that does NOT absorb the light energy, but continues to reflect until it is finally absorbed by a microbe. The result is improved efficiency and performance.

Lower Energy Costs

The result of the highly reflective chamber design is that the UV light energy (photon) remains in the water until finally absorbed by a microbe or chemical molecule such as chloramine. The net effect of the high reflective chamber is a 3X to 7X improvement in efficiency when compared to an equivalent flow rate system. Keeping the UV photon in the water instead of turning it into heat as the housing absorbs it, delivers significant improvement in disinfection performance.

Fewer and/or Shorter Lamps – Reduced Size – Smaller Footprint

As is evidenced by the picture above, the number of UV lamps required by the UVSI Ultraviolet water systems is dramatically lower than that of the competition. In addition to lower energy costs, having fewer and smaller lamps reduces the footprint necessary to accommodate the UV water system and the annual expense of UV lamp replacement.

Uniform Flow to Ensure Proper UV Dosage

An added benefit of the highly reflective UV water treatment chamber is that the UV dose is very uniform throughout the volume of water. Uniform UV energy dose is critical for TOC removal and Urea reduction. This is difficult to achieve with traditional UV water systems due to the poor transmittance of 185 nm UV through even the “cleanest” water. The UVSI patented UV water system resolves this problem, delivering high levels of UV energy, uniform in dosage, inside the flow chamber for both 185 nm and 254 nm wavelengths.

Having a uniform flow pattern throughout the UV water treatment chamber creates an optimal situation for delivering a predictable UV disinfection dose. Fluid dynamic modeling tools were used to optimize the flow tube annulus, resulting in a chamber that has a uniform flow rate. The relatively small size of the chamber results in turbulent flow over a wide range of operating flow rates. Only a single baffle is needed at the inlet. This uniform flow rate coupled with the highly reflective chamber delivers a uniform UV dose throughout the entire chamber length.

All UVSI UV Water Systems include the following as standard:

1. Water contact surfaces 316L Stainless Steel, Quartz and Viton.
2. High intensity low pressure amalgam lamp with electronic ballast.
3. Static (no flow) operation up to 1 hour.
4. NIST traceable UV intensity Monitor and Alarm.
5. Vertical and Horizontal Mounting Configuration.
6. Easy-change Lamp Connectors (no tools required).
7. NEMA 4X control unit: Alarms, LEDs, 4-20ma Signals, and Hour Meter.
8. Controls and components meet UL and DE regulatory requirements.
9. Operating pressure up to 150 psi at 32° - 140°F (0° - 60°C).

Applications for UV Water Treatment Systems

The following facilities are examples of typical applications for UV water purifiers:

1. Food Processing Plants
2. Beverage Processing
3. Manufacturing Plants

Contact Res-Kem Corp. - Your Industrial Ultraviolet Water Treatment Systems Specialist: