As a core link for water supply guarantee in high-rise buildings and remote areas, secondary water supply is prone to microbial secondary pollution during water storage in tanks and pipeline transportation, making disinfection a key part of water quality safety control. Ultraviolet (UV) disinfectors, with advantages such as physical sterilization and no chemical residues, meet the core requirements of "high efficiency, safety, and low interference" for secondary water supply and have gradually become one of the mainstream disinfection equipment in the industry. This paper comprehensively analyzes the application points of UV disinfectors in the secondary water supply industry from five dimensions: application value, technical adaptation, scenario implementation, existing problems, and optimization strategies.
I. Core Application Value: Addressing Pain Points in the Secondary Water Supply Industry
Secondary water supply systems generally have problems such as water retention in tanks, pipeline aging, and insufficient maintenance frequency, which easily breed pathogenic microorganisms such as Escherichia coli, Cryptosporidium, and Giardia. The technical characteristics of UV disinfectors accurately match these prevention and control needs, with core values reflected in three aspects.
1. Safe and Non-Intrusive, Suitable for Terminal Drinking Water Needs
UV disinfection achieves sterilization by destroying the DNA/RNA structure of microorganisms with short-wave ultraviolet rays at 253.7 nm, without adding chemical disinfectants such as chlorine or chlorine dioxide throughout the process. It fundamentally avoids the formation of chlorinated disinfection by-products (e.g., trihalomethanes, haloacetic acids), and does not change the physical and chemical properties of raw water such as pH value, dissolved oxygen, and salinity. No odor or toxic residues are generated, and the treated water quality can directly meet the requirements of the "Standards for Drinking Water Quality" (GB 5749-2022), making it suitable for terminal drinking water guarantee scenarios for residents.
2. Efficient and Fast, Adapting to Flow Characteristics of Secondary Water Supply
Unlike chemical disinfection which requires more than 30 minutes of contact time, UV disinfection can inactivate bacteria and viruses within 1-5 seconds, with an extremely short hydraulic retention time. It does not require large reaction tanks, and the equipment is compact and occupies little space, which can flexibly adapt to confined spaces such as secondary water supply pump rooms and tank sides. It can be directly connected in series to the water supply pipeline without affecting the flow stability of the water supply system, and is especially suitable for mainstream modes such as variable-frequency constant-pressure water supply and tank pressurized water supply in high-rise communities.
3. Convenient Operation and Maintenance, Reducing Industry Management Costs
UV disinfectors have a simple structure and are easy to install, requiring only connection of water inlets/outlets and power supply to operate. With a high degree of automation, they can be equipped with online intensity monitors for real-time regulation. Daily maintenance only involves regular cleaning of quartz sleeves (to prevent scaling from affecting light transmittance, recommended once every 3 months), replacement of lamp tubes (low-pressure high-intensity amalgam germicidal lamps have a service life of about 8,000-12,000 hours, replaced approximately once a year), and electronic ballasts (replaced once every 3 years). No professional on-duty is required, which greatly reduces the maintenance costs and management difficulty of secondary water supply facility operators, while avoiding the safety risks of chemical storage and transportation.
