Inactivation of indicator microorganisms of faecal contamination by ultraviolet radiation and evaluation of photoreactivation and dark repair phenomena

Abstract

This research aimed to evaluate the performance of ultraviolet radiation (UV) for disinfecting effluents from a municipal wastewater treatment plant, in laboratory bench scale and batch operation. The interference of the operational parameters of exposure time (s) to the radiation and the level of liquid blade (cm) of the effluent in the UV reactor were analyzed. The efficiency of the disinfection process was checked using the indicators microorganisms Clostridium perfringens (C. perfringens), coliphages, Escherichia coli (E. coli) and total coliforms (TC). After disinfection, some tests were carried out to evaluate the phenomena of microbiological recovery: photoreactivation and dark repair, for E. coli and TC. The results indicate effective inactivation of indicator microorganisms by UV radiation during the time of exposure, which was statistically proved by repeated measures ANOVA. C. perfringens was the microorganism that showed the highest resistance against UV inactivation. In microbiological recovery tests, both mechanisms were considered insignificant, which was statistically proven by the Student (t test — parametric data) and the Wilcoxon (nonparametric data) tests. In all analyses, the level of significance was 5%.