Water disinfection with UVC radiation and H2O2. A comparative studyThis paper was published as part of the themed issue of contributions from the 5th European Meeting on Solar Chemistry and Photocatalysis: Environmental Applications held in Palermo, Italy, October 2008.

A generalized kinetic model resulting from several modifications of the one originally known as the Series Event Model has been applied to describe three different disinfection processes and compare their efficiencies. The work was performed in a well-defined, versatile batch reactor employing Escherichia colias a subrogate bacteria. The following systems were studied: (i) UVC radiation alone, (ii) hydrogen peroxide alone and (iii) UVC radiation combined with hydrogen peroxide. The kinetic parameters of the three models were determined. Within the range of studied operating conditions, the use of UVC alone has shown to produce the best results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]