Abstract
Inactivation of viruses has been an insuperable inhibition to the use of recycled water. Substantial success in solving the problem has recently been achieved using a hot column evaporator (HBCE). Here we extend the technique to inactivate E.coli and MS2 viruses in different electrolyte solutions (0.17M NaCl and 0.01M CaCl2). An increase in the inlet air temperature, from 103°C to 250°C, substantially improved the destruction of both pathogenic groups in either solution. E.coli proved to be more susceptible than viruses to inactivation in the HBCE. The phenomenon of inhibition of bubble coalescence above 0.17M for the NaCl solutions makes the HBCE process for this solution more efficient than for CaCl2 solutions. In part, this is because of the higher air/water interfacial area with NaCl.
Highlights
Inactivation of microorganisms, viruses and bacteria is the central problem for the sterilisation of aqueous solutions for almost any application
Theoretical model estimate of thickness and temperature of the transient hot water layer around the hot bubbles used in the inactivation of viruses and bacteria
The hot bubble column evaporator (HBCE) process successfully sterilised water contaminated with E. coli and MS2 viruses using hot air bubbles in two different solutions (0.17 M NaCl and 0.01 M CaCl2)
Summary
Inactivation of microorganisms, viruses and bacteria is the central problem for the sterilisation of aqueous solutions for almost any application. A continuous flow of rising bubbles passes through the liquid.[2] A gas-liquid bubble column provides a heat transfer rate between gas and liquid 100 times more efficiently than via bulk.[3] This heat transfer efficiency in a hot bubble column evaporator (HBCE) has been used in this work to inactivate E. coli and the MS2 virus for water reuse, without the need for boiling.[4] It does so by transferring heat from the hot air bubbles to the surfaces of pathogens contained in the solution through collisions.[5] The HBCE process requires less thermal energy than solution boiling because of the lower operating temperature of the solution. The phenomenon of bubble-bubble interactions in electrolytes has remained unquantified until 1993.6 Gas passing through a frit at the base of a water column produces bubbles. For another class of electrolytes, there is no effect of salt on fusion inhibition
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