Synergistic effect of sequential or combined use of ozone and UV radiation for the disinfection of Bacillus subtilis spores

This study was performed to evaluate the inactivation efficiency or synergy of combined ozone and UV processes (combined ozone/UV process) or sequential processes (ozone-UV, UV-ozone) compared with individual unit processes and to investigate the specific roles of ozone, UV and the hydroxyl radical, which is formed as an intermediate in the combined ozone/UV process. The Bacillus subtilis spore, which has often been used as a surrogate microorganism for Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts, was used as a target microorganism. Compared to individual unit processes with ozone or UV, the inactivation of B. subtilis spores by the combined ozone/UV process was enhanced under identical conditions. To investigate the specific roles of ozone and UV in the combined ozone/UV process, sequential ozone-UV and UV-ozone processes were tested for degrees of inactivation. Additionally, the experiment was performed in the presence and absence of tert-butyl alcohol, which acted as a hydroxyl radical scavenger to assess the role of inactivation by the hydroxyl radical in the combined ozone/UV process. Among the five candidate processes, the greatest synergistic effect was observed in the combined ozone/UV process. From the comparison of five candidate processes, the hydroxyl radical and ozone were each determined to significantly enhance the overall inactivation efficiency in the combined ozone/UV process.