Solar disinfection of fluid
A system for solar disinfection of fluid. One most preferred version of the system includes: (a) A UVTC, made of a polyethylene laminate film with an approximately rectangular plan, providing: a. A first compartment. b. A second compartment for holding fluid, with a port to fill and dispense. (b) A Disinfection Monitor Module (“DMM”) located in the first compartment which: a. Includes at least one sensor to measure radiation intensity. b. Provides at least one user interface: c. Contains a wireless communication interface. d. Operates according to a process that ensures sufficient cumulative exposure of the contained fluid to solar UV to achieve adequate solar disinfection. Alternative embodiments may also include sensors to detect additional characteristics, such as transmittance, turbidity, “combined transmittance,” and/or temperature.
1. A device to measure photodisinfection treatment of water by ultraviolet radiation from the sun, comprising:
a container for holding the water, the container being substantially transparent to the radiation, the container being further configured to enhance exposure of the water to the radiation by a geometric design that limits the cross-section of the water volume in a primary direction of incident radiation, the container comprising two or more laminates, wherein at least one laminate is substantially transparent to UV-A radiation, or UV-B radiation, or both UV-A and UV-B radiation, and at least one other laminate is not transparent to either UV-A radiation or UV-B radiation but provides structural robustness to the container, and further wherein at least one laminate is reflective such that incident UV radiation passing through the container is reflected back into the container, thereby increasing the rate of treatment;
an optical sensing component configured to estimate an intensity of radiation incident to a face of the optical sensing component and having wavelengths that correlate with the treatment, the optical sensing component being affixed to the container such that the face of the optical sensing component is oriented normal to a primary path of the radiation, the optical sensing component being disposed within the container so that the radiation incident upon the optical sensing component passes through the same material as the radiation incident upon the water; and
a computing component that estimates treatment progress using optical sensor measurements over time, allows a user to initiate or terminate treatment process monitoring, and provides an indication of treatment progress.
2. A device to measure photodisinfection treatment of water by ultraviolet radiation from the sun, comprising:
a container for holding the water, the container being substantially transparent to the radiation, the container being further configured to enhance exposure of the water to the radiation by a geometric design that limits the cross-section of the water volume in a primary direction of incident radiation;
an optical sensing component configured to estimate an intensity of radiation incident to a face of the optical sensing component and having wavelengths that correlate with the treatment, the optical sensing component being affixed to the container such that the face of the optical sensing component is oriented normal to a primary path of the radiation, the optical sensing component being disposed within the container so that the radiation incident upon the optical sensing component passes through the same material as the radiation incident upon the water; and
a computing component that estimates treatment progress using optical sensor measurements over time, allows a user to initiate or terminate treatment process monitoring, and provides an indication of treatment progress.
3. A device to measure photodisinfection treatment of water by ultraviolet radiation from the sun, comprising:
a container for holding the water, the container being substantially transparent to the radiation, the container being further configured to enhance exposure of the water to the radiation by a geometric design that limits the cross-section of the water volume in a primary direction of incident radiation;
an optical sensing component configured to estimate an intensity of radiation incident to a face of the optical sensing component and having wavelengths that correlate with the treatment, the optical sensing component being affixed to the container such that the face of the optical sensing component is oriented normal to a primary path of the radiation; and
a computing component that estimates treatment progress using optical sensor measurements over time, allows a user to initiate or terminate treatment process monitoring, and provides an indication of treatment progress.
4. A device to measure photochemical treatment of a fluid by radiation from an external source, comprising:
a container for holding the fluid, the container being substantially transparent to the radiation, the container being further configured to enhance exposure of the fluid to the radiation by a geometric design that limits the cross-section of the fluid volume in a primary direction of incident radiation;
an optical sensing component configured to estimate an intensity of radiation incident to a face of the optical sensing component and having wavelengths that correlate with the treatment, the optical sensing component being affixed to the container such that the face of the optical sensing component is oriented normal to a primary path of the radiation; and
a computing component that estimates treatment progress using optical sensor measurements over time, allows a user to initiate or terminate treatment process monitoring, and provides an indication of treatment progress.
5. The device recited in claim 4 , wherein the photochemical treatment of the fluid comprises photodisinfection of water.
6. The device recited in claim 4 , wherein the external source of radiation comprises ultraviolet radiation from the sun.
7. The device recited in claim 4 , wherein maximizing exposure to radiation is accomplished by the inclusion of reflective surfaces.
8. The device recited in claim 4 , wherein the treatment progress comprises a binary indication of completeness with respect to a particular threshold criteria.
9. The device recited in claim 4 , wherein the optical sensing component is disposed within the container so that the radiation incident upon the optical sensing component passes through the same material as the radiation incident upon the fluid, or through material having substantially the same optical properties as the container.
10. The device recited in claim 4 , further comprising a temperature sensing component configured to detect a temperature of the fluid, and wherein the computing component is further configured to include the temperature in the estimation of treatment progress.
11. The device recited in claim 4 , wherein the optical sensing component and the computing component are further configured to measure one or more of turbidity and transmittance of the fluid.
12. The device recited in claim 4 , wherein the container is a flexible structure constructed of laminates of plastics.
13. The device recited in claim 12 , wherein the container is a bag comprised of two or more laminates, wherein one laminate is substantially transparent to UV-A and UV-B radiation, and the other laminate is not necessarily transparent to UV-A or UV-B but provides structural robustness to the container.
14. The device recited in claim 4 , wherein the other laminate is reflective such that incident UV radiation passing through the container is reflected back into the container, thereby increasing the rate of treatment.
15. The device recited in claim 4 , wherein the other laminate is absorptive black, such that incident radiation is converted to heat, thereby raising the temperature of the fluid.
16. The device recited in claim 4 , wherein the computing component automatically starts measuring treatment progress when the container is secured shut, and automatically resets treatment progress when the container is opened.
17. The device recited in claim 4 , further comprising a ‘Start’ button that initiates treatment measurement, an ‘Off/Reset’ button to restart treatment measurement, and one or more visual indicators of treatment process status.
18. A device to measure photochemical treatment of a fluid by radiation from an external source, comprising:
a container having a first compartment for holding the fluid, the container being substantially transparent to the radiation, the container being further configured to enhance exposure of the fluid to the radiation by a geometric design that limits the cross-section of the fluid volume in a primary direction of incident radiation, the container having a second compartment;
an optical sensing component disposed within the second compartment of the container, the optical sensing component being configured to estimate an intensity of radiation incident to a face of the optical sensing component and having wavelengths that correlate with the treatment, the optical sensing component being affixed to the container such that the face of the optical sensing component is oriented normal to a primary path of the radiation;
a computing component that estimates treatment progress using optical sensor measurements over time, allows a user to initiate or terminate treatment process monitoring, provides an indication of treatment progress, and stores data representative of usage of the device over time; and
a wireless communication component configured to transmit the stored data to a remote computing device.
19. The device recited in claim 18 , wherein the wireless communication component is further configured to interact with the remote computing device over a local area wireless communication protocol.