Water Vending

 

UV Treatment for Water Vending

Bottled water consumption continues to grow worldwide due to the convenience, and, more importantly, the promise of better water quality. Whether it’s a single-serve bottle, a bulk delivery to an office, or water dispensed from a vending unit, delivering on that promise requires water treatment appropriate to the water source. Water from a vending machine must meet all requirements for potable water. So, ideally, the final stage of treatment is microbial inactivation for the following reasons:
• Uncertainty regarding the source water’s microbial quality
• Management of microbial growth/breakthrough in membrane or carbon filtration
• Nearest the point of use

How UV Contributes to Microbial Inactivation

Exposing microorganisms like Escherichia coli (E. coli), giardia, and fecal coliforms to certain wavelengths of UV light damages the DNA and eliminates their ability to reproduce. This physical treatment process does not impact the taste of the water—an important consideration in water vending applications.

UV Systems for Water Vending Machines

Water vending is primarily a low flow rate, point-of-use application. As such, the key attributes for a UV system are space efficiency, low energy consumption, ease of maintenance, and, of course, reliability.