A pulse power flashlamp system for water decontamination

The emerging threat of water borne pathogens has significantly heightened the requirements for point of use and point of distribution water treatment systems. One such system, based on flow through ultraviolet reactors, is viewed by many today as the technology of choice for small-scale water treatment systems. However, existing reactor technology is based on continuous wave ultraviolet lamps that require a warm-up phase and must be kept on continuously in point of use systems: resulting in inefficient power utilization and reduced lamp lifetime. As an adjunct to reactor technology, pulse power based flashlamp systems are being developed as an alternative to the continuous lamp systems. The target pathogens include, but are not limited to, cryptosporium parvum, escherichia coli O157:H7, and viruses. The design parameters required to achieve the 10/sup 8/-10/sup 9/ pulse lifetimes required for commercial point of use systems and small, instant start systems are presented. Parameters including, peak current, explosion limit, conversion efficiency and lifetime considerations for xenon flashlamps are discussed along with the effect of pulsed ultraviolet light on escherichia coli.