Skip to main content

Pulsed UV Systems

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Book cover Ultraviolet Germicidal Irradiation Handbook

Abstract

Pulsed light systems using ultraviolet wavelengths have been shown to rapidly produce high levels of disinfection. The rate of disinfection is high due to the extreme UV power levels produced by pulsed UV lamps. The disinfection effect of pulsed light is primarily due to the UV content and can be modeled using the same basic UV rate constants previously presented for UV exposure. One exception exists – pulsed light induces a secondary effect, rapid heating due to the UVA content that can rupture microbial cells. This new disinfection process will also be addressed here after the basics of pulsed UV disinfection are covered.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 229.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 299.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 299.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Arrowood MJ, Xie L-T, Rieger K, Dunn J. 1996. Disinfection of Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts by pulsed light treatment evaluated in an in vitro cultivation model. J Euk Microbiol 43(5):88S.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Begum M, Hocking A, Miskelly D. 2009. Inactivation of food spoilage fungi by ultraviolet (UVC) irradiation. Int J Food Microbiol 129:74–77.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bialka K, Walker P, Puri V, Demirci A. 2008. Pulsed UV-light penetration of characterization and the inactivation of Escherichia coli K12 in solid model systems. Trans ASABE 51(1):195–204.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bohrerova Z, Shemer H, Lantis R, Impellitteri C, Linden K. 2008. Comparative disinfection efficiency of pulsed and continuous-wave UV irradiation technologies. Wat Res 42:2975–2982.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bolton JR, Linden KG. 2003. Standardization of methods for fluence (UV Dose) determination in bench-scale UV experiments. J Environ Eng 129(3):209–215.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bushnell A, Cooper JR, Dunn J, Leo F, May R. 1998. Pulsed light sterilization tunnels and sterile-pass-throughs. Pharm Eng March/April:48–58.

    Google Scholar 

  • Capobianco RA. 2000. Design Considerations for High-Stability Pulsed Light Systems. PerkinElmer Optoelectronics .

    Google Scholar 

  • Chick EW, A.B. Hudnell J, Sharp DG. 1963. Ultraviolet sensitivity of fungi associated with mycotic keratitis and other mycoses. Sabouviad 2(4):195–200.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dunn J. 1996. Pulsed light and pulsed electric field for food and eggs. Poult Sci 75(9):1133–1136.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dunn J, Bushnell A, Ott T, Clark W. 1997. Pulsed white light food processing. Cereal Foods World 42(7):510–515.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dunn J. 2000. Pulsed Light Disinfection of Water and Sterilization of Blow/Fill/Seal Manufactured Aseptic Pharmaceutical Products. Woodstock, IL: Automatic Liquid Packaging.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fulton HR, Coblentz WW. 1929. The fungicidal action of ultraviolet radiation. J Agric Res 38:159.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gritz DC, Lee TY, McDonnell PJ, Shih K, Baron N. 1990. Ultraviolet radiation for the sterilization of contact lenses. CLAO J 16(4):294–298.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hancock P, Curry R, McDonald K, Altigilbers L. 2004. Megawatt, pulsed ultraviolet photon sources for microbial inactivation. IEEE Trans Plasma Sci 32:2026–2031.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hillegas SL, Demirci A. 2003. Inactivation of Clostridium sporogenes in clover honey by pulsed UV-light treatment. Las Vegas, NV: ASAE.

    Google Scholar 

  • IESNA. 2000. Lighting Handbook: Reference & Application IESNA HB-9-2000. New York: Illumination Engineering Society of North America.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kowalski WJ. 2001. Design and optimization of UVGI air disinfection systems [PhD]. State College: The Pennsylvania State University.

    Google Scholar 

  • Krishnamurthy K, Demirci A, Irudayaraj J. 2003. Paper # 03-037: Inactivation of Staphylococcus aureus using pulsed UV treatment. Storrs, CT: ASAE.

    Google Scholar 

  • Krishnamurthy K, Demirci A, Irudayaraj J. 2004. Inactivation of Staphylococcus aureus by pulsed UV-light sterilization. J Food Prot 67(5):1027–1030.

    Google Scholar 

  • Krishnamurthy K, Tewari J, Irudayaraj J, Demirci A. 2008. Microscopic and spectroscopic evaluation of inactivation of Staphylococcus aureus by pulsed UV light and infrared heating. Food Bioprocess Technol, published online 25 April 2008.

    Google Scholar 

  • Linden KG, Shin G-A, Sobsey MD. 2000. Comparison of Monochromatic and Polychromatic UV Light for Disinfection Efficacy. American Water Works Association.

    Google Scholar 

  • Luckiesh M, Taylor AH, Knowles T, Leppelmeier ET. 1949. Inactivation of molds by germicidal ultraviolet energy. J Franklin Instit 248(4):311–325.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • MacGregor SJ, Rowan NJ, McIlvaney L, Anderson JG, Fouracre RA, Farish O. 1998. Light inactivation of food-related pathogenic bacteria using a pulsed power source. Lett Appl Microbiol 27:67–70.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marshall T. 1999. Deadly pulses. Water Environ Technol 11(2):37–41.

    Google Scholar 

  • Masschelein WJ. 2002. Ultraviolet Light in Water and Wastewater Sanitation. Boca Raton: Lewis Publishers.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • McDonald K, Curry R, Clevenger T, Brazos B, Unklesbay K, Eisenstark A, Baker S, Golden J, Morgan R. 1999. Comparison of pulsed vs. continuous ultraviolet light sources for the de-contamination of surfaces. Monterey, CA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mofidi A, Baribeau H, Rochelle P, DeLeon R, Coffey B. 2001. Disinfection of Cryptosporidium parvum with polychromatic UV light. Am Wat Works Assoc J 93:95–109.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nagy R. 1964. Application and measurement of ultraviolet radiation. AIHA J 25:274–281.

    Google Scholar 

  • Otaki M, Okuda A, Tajima K, Iwasaki T, Kinoshita S, Ohgaki S. 2003. Inactivation differences of microorganisms by low pressure UV and pulsed xenon lamps. Wat Sci Technol 47(3):185–190.

    Google Scholar 

  • Panico LR. 2002. Instantaneous Surface Sanitization with Pulsed UV. July 8–9, Brussels, Belgium, p. 12.

    Google Scholar 

  • Peccia J, Hernandez M. 2001. Photoreactivation in airborne Mycobacterium parafortuitum. Appl Environ Microbiol 67:4225–4232.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rice JK, Ewell M. 2001. Examination of peak power dependence in the UV inactivation of bacterial spores. Appl Environ Microbiol 67(12):5830–5832.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rowan NJ, MacGregor SJ, Anderson JG, Fouracre RA, McIlvaney L, Farish O. 1999. Pulsed-light inactivation of food-related microorganisms. Appl Environ Microbiol 65(3):1312–1315.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schaefer RB, Linden K. 2001. Innovative Ultraviolet Light Source for Disinfection of Drinking Water. Washington, DC.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schaefer R, Grapperhaus M, Schaefer I, Linden K. 2007. Pulsed UV lamp performance and comparison with UV mercury lamps. J Environ Eng Sci 6:103–310.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Setlow JK. 1966. Photoreactivation. Radiat Res Suppl 6:141–155.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sharma RR, Demirci A. 2003. Inactivation of Escherichia coli 0157:H7 on inoculated alfalfa seeds with pulsed ultraviolet light and response surface modeling. J Food Sci 68(4):1448–1453.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sonenshein AL. 2001. Killing of Bacillus spores by high-intensity ultraviolet light. Boston, MA: Tufts University School of Medicine/Xenon Corp.

    Google Scholar 

  • UVDI. 2002. Report on pulsed light disinfection of microorganisms prepared by K. Foarde and Research Triangle Institute. Valencia: Ultraviolet Devices Incorporated.

    Google Scholar 

  • VanBoekel M. 2002. On the use of the Weibull model to describe thermal inactivation of microbial vegetative cells. Int J Food Microbiol 74(1–2):139–159.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wallen RD, May R, Reiger K, Holoway JM, Cover WH. 2001. Sterilization of a new medical device using broad-spectrum pulsed light. Biomed Instr Tech 35(5):323–330.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wang T, MacGregor SJ, Anderson JG, Woolsey GA. 2005. Pulsed ultra-violet inactivation spectrum of E. coli. Wat Res 39:2921–2925.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wekhof A. 1991. Treatment of contaminated water, air, and soil with UV flashlamps. Environ Prog 10(4):241–247.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wekhof A. 2000. Disinfection with flashlamps. PDA J Pharm Sci Technol 54(3):264–267.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wekhof A, Trompeter I-J, Franken O. 2001. Pulsed UV-Disintegration, a New Sterilization Mechanism for Broad Packaging and Medical-Hospital Applications. Washington, DC.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zahl PA, Koller LR, Haskins CP. 1939. The effects of ultraviolet radiation on spores of the fungus Aspergillus niger. J Gen Physiol 16:221–235.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Wladyslaw Kowalski .

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2009 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Kowalski, W. (2009). Pulsed UV Systems. In: Ultraviolet Germicidal Irradiation Handbook. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-01999-9_16

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-01999-9_16

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-01998-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-01999-9

  • eBook Packages: EngineeringEngineering (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics