Effective management of pre-existing biofilms using UV-LED through inactivation, disintegration and peeling.

Managing undesirable biofilms is a persistent challenge in water treatment and distribution systems. Although ultraviolet-light emitting diode (UV-LED) irradiation, an emerging disinfection method with the chemical-free and emission-adjustable merits, has been widely reported effective to inactivate planktonic bacteria, few studies have examined its effects on biofilms. This study aims to fill this gap by exploring the performance and mechanism of UV-LEDs on the prefabricated Escherichia coli (E.

Advances in application of ultraviolet irradiation for biofilm control in water and wastewater infrastructure.

Biofilms are ubiquitous in aquatic environment. While so far, most of the ultraviolet (UV) disinfection studies focus on planktonic bacteria, and only limited attention has been given to UV irradiation on biofilms. To enrich this knowledge, the present paper reviews the up-to-date studies about applying UV to control biofilms in water and wastewater infrastructure.