THE TECHNOLOGY BEHIND WALLENIUS AOT
Growing demand for more ecologically efficient water treatment technologies has led to development of a variety of new oxidation methods. Generically, these are known as Advanced Oxidation Technologies (AOT) or Advanced Oxidation Processes (AOP).
Wallenius AOT is based on combining photochemical and photocatalytic principles in a process requiring no chemical additives. The process creates a reactive environment that can oxidise organic and inorganic substances and detoxify organisms (bacteria, viruses and mould) more effectively than conventional techniques.
What makes Wallenius AOT more effective than other solutions is the combination of a catalytic semiconductor and light sources. The technology takes advantage of the fact that light can activate chemical processes. When water flows through the purifier and light hits the water and the semiconducting catalytic surface of the reactor walls, free radicals are produced. Microorganisms and other organic contaminants then run into the free radicals, which break them down in a few millionths of a second. Because the process is so fast, the radicals exist only inside the purifier. They are eliminated before they come out – and the process leaves no harmful residues behind. The free radicals that Wallenius AOT produces are no different from the free radicals produced by natural processes, by sunlight on water or the breakdown of microorganisms in nature.
The great strength of the technology is that it enables the degree of purification to be customised. With Wallenius AOT, we can fine-tune the process to attack a specific problem, regardless of the flow and regardless of whether the problem is chemical or biological. By changing the dynamics of the process, we can design a treatment that perfectly matches the application at hand, basing it on the specific applications involved and the specific requirements on the water being purified.
When water flows through the purifier and light hits the water and the surface of the titanium catalytic semiconductor, free radicals are produced which help break down organic material in the water. The process occurs only inside the purifier and leaves no harmful residual products behind.
1) A radical hits the surface of a microorganism or other organic contaminant in the water.
2) The radical steals a hydrogen atom.
3) When a structure on the surface of the microorganism or contaminant loses a hydrogen atom, it loses its shape and breaks down. The radical is converted to water.
