Unilever spreads UV disinfection system
21 Mar 2007
System treating process water at its margarine manufacturing plant in Rotterdam.
London -- Unilever Netherlands has recently installed a Berson UV disinfection system to treat process water at its margarine manufacturing plant in Rotterdam.
The system ensures that all mains water used in the plant has a CFU/ml (colony forming unit/ml) count of less than 100 and so can be used in the manufacture of margarine brands such as Becel and Blue Band.
Mains water is first drawn into a break tank before being pumped through the UV system at a flow rate of 40m3/hour. From there it passes through a mesh filter to remove any large particles.
“Although incoming mains water is of very high quality, it cannot always be guaranteed to have less than 100 CFU/ml,” commented a Unilever manager. The UV system “ensures the count is less than this by destroying virtually any microorganisms remaining in the water,” he added.