Abstract
We report simulations of the thermal effect of strong equatorial sunshine on water samples contaminated with high populations of fecal coliforms. Water samples, heavily contaminated with a wild-type strain of Escherichia coli (starting population = 20 x 10(5) CFU/ml), are heated to those temperatures recorded for 2-liter samples stored in transparent plastic bottles and exposed to full Kenyan sunshine (maximum water temperature, 55 degrees C). The samples are completely disinfected within 7 h, and no viable E. coli organisms are detected at either the end of the experiment or a further 12 h later, showing that no bacterial recovery has occurred. The feasibility of employing solar disinfection for highly turbid, fecally contaminated water is discussed.
Full Text
The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (172.8 KB).
Selected References
These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.
- Acra A., Karahagopian Y., Raffoul Z., Dajani R. Disinfection of oral rehydration solutions by sunlight. Lancet. 1980 Dec 6;2(8206):1257–1258. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(80)92530-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Ciochetti D. A., Metcalf R. H. Pasteurization of naturally contaminated water with solar energy. Appl Environ Microbiol. 1984 Feb;47(2):223–228. doi: 10.1128/aem.47.2.223-228.1984. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Davies C. M., Evison L. M. Sunlight and the survival of enteric bacteria in natural waters. J Appl Bacteriol. 1991 Mar;70(3):265–274. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2672.1991.tb02935.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- De Lorenzi G., Volta C., Monjour L. Application de la désinfection solaire à l'eau de boisson en milieu tropical. Bull Soc Pathol Exot Filiales. 1989;82(2):255–259. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Fujioka R. S., Hashimoto H. H., Siwak E. B., Young R. H. Effect of sunlight on survival of indicator bacteria in seawater. Appl Environ Microbiol. 1981 Mar;41(3):690–696. doi: 10.1128/aem.41.3.690-696.1981. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Joyce T., Kenny V., McGuigan K., Barnes J. Disinfection of water by sunlight. Lancet. 1992 Oct 10;340(8824):921–921. doi: 10.1016/0140-6736(92)93340-s. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Kapuscinski R. B., Mitchell R. Solar radiation induces sublethal injury in Escherichia coli in seawater. Appl Environ Microbiol. 1981 Mar;41(3):670–674. doi: 10.1128/aem.41.3.670-674.1981. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Morley D. Sunlight and drinking water. Lancet. 1988 Sep 17;2(8612):686–686. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(88)90499-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Zemke V., Podgorsek L., Schoenen D. Ultraviolet disinfection of drinking water. 1. Communication: Inactivation of E. coli and coliform bacteria. Zentralbl Hyg Umweltmed. 1990 May;190(1-2):51–61. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]