UV Solutions

Innovations for Industry, Public Health & the Environment

Eco-Friendly and Effective: UV Technology for One Water

By Corresponding Authors Castine A. Bernardy, Ph.D., CDM Smith; and James P. Malley, Jr., Ph.D., Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of New Hampshire

This issue’s column provides an overview of the current market forecast, a listing of peer-reviewed papers and a summary of two recent UV research projects.

A Snapshot of the UV Technology Global Market

Multiple AI-driven market searches for the period ending March 31, 2026, were used to provide the most up-to-date estimates and account for uncertainties. Results and analysis are based upon the most recent reports from a wide variety of sources, which can be found online at www.uvsolutionsmag.com.

This analysis yielded the following broad summary: The UV technology for the water global market is poised for strong growth in 2026, driven by rising demand for chemical-free disinfection, with specialized industrial UV treatment systems projected to grow at a 9% to 11% Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR). Key sectors driving this momentum include municipal water treatment and industrial process water, with the US and Europe leading adoption.

  • UV Water Treatment Systems Market: Valued at around $1.85 billion in 2026, with a projected 12.5% CAGR through 2033. Other estimates value the broader ultraviolet water treatment systems market at $2.8 billion in 2026, growing at 11.7% CAGR.
  • UV LED for Water Purification: This segment could be the subject of an entire market summary unto itself but is briefly summarized here. The UV LED market for water disinfection is experiencing rapid expansion, transitioning from niche applications to mainstream adoption. The market is driven by the phase-out of mercury-based lamps and rising demand for chemical-free, mercury-free and energy-efficient water purification, particularly for point-of-use (POU) and small-scale municipal systems. The market is poised for significant expansion, with some forecasts suggesting a 24.6% CAGR through 2030. Another estimate suggests a CAGR of 13.2% from 2026 to 2033.
  • Regional Trends: The US market is estimated at $1.70 billion in 2026, while Europe maintains a strong valuation of $1.63 billion due to stringent environmental standards

Key Drivers and Trends:

  • Industrial Automation: Increased adoption in manufacturing, pharmaceuticals and power generation, seeking cost-effective, sustainable, automated IoT systems.
  • Regulatory Compliance: Stringent rules on water safety and reduced risks from chemical usage (especially in Europe) are forcing companies to upgrade to UV systems.
  • Sustainability: Increased focus on eco-friendly, energy-efficient solutions for water purification is a key issue for many users.

Recent Publications Related to UV Technology and One Water

Multiple scientific search engines have been used to identify peer-reviewed articles that may be of interest to professionals working in the UV technology for “One Water” segment. The top 10 most cited articles during the period January 1 through March 31, 2026, were as follows:

  1. “Comparative effects of chlorine and UV LED disinfection on drinking and biofilms, with chlorine causing greater shifts in microbial community composition.” Yijing Liu, Amanda B. Killian, Karl G. Linden, Natalie M. Hull https://journals.plos.org/water/article?id=10.1371/journal.pwat.0000430  
  2. “Decentralized UV disinfection systems in rural areas or low-resource contexts: a case study compilation.” N. Moore, D. Pousty, D. Ma, R. Hofmann, A. Pras, R. E. Higbee, H. Mamane, and S. E. Beck. DOI: 10.1039/D4EW00822G Environ. Sci.: Water Res. Technol., 2026, 12, 14-58
  3. “Ultraviolet light-emitting diode technologies in water disinfection.” Deva Pelayo, Ana Hernández-Pellón, Germán Santos, Marta Rumayor, Inmaculada Ortiz, and María J. Rivero, Journal of Environmental Management, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2024.121442  
  4. “UV LED wastewater disinfection: The future is upon us.” Sean A MacIsaac, Bailey Reid, Carolina Ontiveros, Karl G Linden, Amina K Stoddart, and Graham A Gagnon, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wroa.2024.100236
  5. “Performance of high-efficiency UV-C LEDs in water disinfection.” Deva Pelayo, Ana Hernández-Pellón, Germán Santos, Marta Rumayor, Inmaculada Ortiz, and María J. Rivero, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2024.121442
  6. “Efficacy of UVC-LED radiation in bacterial, viral, and protozoan water disinfection.” Bárbara Luíza Souza Freitas, Natália Melo de Nasser Fava, Murilo Guilherme de Melo-Neto, Gustavo Gonçalves Dalkiranis, Adriano Luiz Tonetti, John Anthony Byrne, Pilar Fernandez-Ibañez, and Lyda Patricia Sabogal-Paz, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2024.122322
  7. “A critical review of ultra-violet light emitting diodes as a one water disinfection technology.” Kyle D Rauch, Sean A MacIsaac, Bailey Reid, Toni J Mullin, Ariel J Atkinson, Anthony L Pimentel, Amina K Stoddart, Karl G Linden, and Graham A Gagnon doi: 10.1016/j.wroa.2024.100271
  8. “Ultraviolet technology application in urban water supply and wastewater treatment.” Wenjun Sun, Xiuwei Ao, Dongming Lu, Yuanna Zhang, Yanei Xue, Siyuan He, Xi Zhang, and Ted Mao, doi: 10.1016/j.wroa.2024.100225
  9. “Synergistic effect of combined UV-LED and chlorine treatment on Bacillus subtilis spore inactivation.” Daniel Ma, Clarissa Belloni, and Natalie M. Hull, https://doi.org/10.1080/09593330.2024.2375008
  10. “Evaluating Disinfection Performance and Energy Efficiency of a Dual-Wavelength UV-LED Flow-Through Device.” Yoontaek Oh, Hyun-Chul, Laura Boczek and Hodon Ryu, https://doi.org/10.3390/w17202965  

Latest in UV Research Projects

Two research summaries are presented below, highlighting ongoing UV-advanced reduction processes (UV-ARP) research recently presented by researchers from Colorado and Texas.

PFAS Destruction with UV Advanced Reduction Processes at the Pilot Scale

Authors: Susheera Pochiraju, Natalia Hoogesteijn, Conner Murray, Jasmine Gamboa, Gaya Ram Mohan, Jason Curl and  Scott Alpert, Hazen and Sawyer (multiple locations); Ann Malinaro, Aurora Water; and Karl Linden, University of Colorado – Boulder

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) contamination challenges require new ideas and technologies to meet recent regulations. Reverse osmosis-based advanced treatment (RBAT) trains are highly effective for PFAS removal but generate concentrated waste streams laden with PFAS. Disposal of these waste streams presents a challenge in the current regulatory environment, with increasing pressure on PFAS-contaminated residuals. This presents an opportunity to evaluate PFAS destruction technologies. UV-advanced reduction processes (UV-ARP) are advanced water treatment technologies effective for PFAS destruction from RBAT concentrate. UV-ARPs present a unique opportunity to harness UV technology, commonly applied across water and wastewater treatment facilities, to destroy PFAS. By leveraging existing UV systems, UV-ARP may reduce capital and O&M investment costs for treating PFAS in advanced treatment waste streams.

UV-ARP applied for PFAS destruction has been proven at the bench scale; however, there have been very few pilot-scale investigations of this technology. To bridge this gap, this study highlighted the deployment of a pilot-scale UV-AOP skid retrofitted with sodium sulfite chemical addition to destroy PFAS at a Colorado utility performing indirect surface water potable reuse. Sodium sulfite was added to a post-softening surface water matrix spiked with a 100 ng/L PFAS solution and was dosed with 800 mJ/cm² of UV light after pH adjustment to approximately 10.0 over the course of six hours. Sodium sulfite concentration and pH were used as variables to evaluate destruction performance. Results demonstrated up to 95% destruction of PFCAs and up to 50% destruction of PFSAs, with increased destruction efficiency observed with increasing chain length for PFSAs.

This study served as an initial proof of concept for UV-ARPs deployed on a full-scale flow stream and provided data and insights into PFAS destruction efficiency in PFAS-impaired waste streams, with subsequent phases planned to evaluate membrane concentrate streams.

Need for PFAS Destruction Techniques has Re-Ignited Interest in UV-Advanced Reduction Processes

Authors: Garrett McKay (Associate Professor) and Bahngmi Jung (Assistant Research Scientist), Zachry Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, Texas A&M University

UV-advanced oxidation processes (UV-AOPs) are well known in the IUVA community. But what about UV-advanced reduction processes (UV-ARPs)? In the early 1990s, the well-known photochemist Jim Bolton (along with Stephen Cater) published a patent 1 using light from low-pressure mercury lamps and external electron donors such as sulfite, iodide and dithionite to degrade chlorinated solvents. Contaminant degradation is due to reductive dechlorination via hydrated electrons (eaq–) generated by the interaction of light with the small molecule/ionic electron donors. Spurred by the need to develop solutions for the remediation of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), there has been a renewed interest in UV-ARP in recent decades.

Dr. Garrett McKay and his research team at Texas A&M University have been conducting studies over the past seven years on the reductive defluorination of PFAS using UV-generated hydrated electrons. One of the first steps in this research was the development of a probe compound for quantifying steady-state concentrations of eaq– (much like Rosenfeldt and Linden developed p-chlorobenzoic acid for •OH quantification). Dr. McKay and his team decided on chloroacetate (ClCH2COO–) as it was selective for reaction with eaq– under typical UV-ARP conditions. 2

By employing chloroacetate to quantify the impact of water quality parameters on steady-state eaq–, Dr. McKay and his team were able to employ chloroacetate to maximize PFAS destruction in reverse osmosis concentrate containing high concentrations of dissolved organic matter and nitrate. Chloroacetate was used to quantify the impact of each water matrix constituent and improve process performance through targeted pre-treatment.

Recently, Dr. McKay and his team have shifted their UV-ARP research from the use of conventional low-pressure mercury light sources to 222 nm-krypton chloride excimer lamps. This project, funded by the Strategic Environmental Research and Defense Program, seeks to investigate the improved performance of 222 nm light for UV-ARP relative to conventional 254 nm photons from low-pressure mercury lamps. 

References:

A Snapshot of the UV Technology Global Market

  1. https://www.renub.com/water-and-wastewater-treatment-market-p.php
  2. https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/uv-disinfection-equipment-market-115479#:~:text=U.S.%20UV%20Disinfection%20Equipment%20Market,standards%20supports%20steady%20market%20growth.
  3. https://www.linkedin.com/company/nexellos/
  4. https://www.linkedin.com/company/market-revenue-and-size/
  5. https://www.cognitivemarketresearch.com/ultraviolet-water-purification-market-report
  6. https://www.mordorintelligence.com/industry-reports/commercial-uv-water-purifier-market#:~:text=By%20application%2C%20Purification%20of%20Drinking,UV%20water%20purifiers%20in%202024.

Latest in UV Research Projects

  1. Bolton, J. R.; Cater, S. R. Treatment of Contaminated Waste Waters and Groundwaters with Photolytically Generated Hydrated Electrons. US 5,258,124 C1, 1991.
  2. Fennell, B., Odorisio, A., McKay, G. Quantifying Hydrated Electron Transformation Kinetic in UV-Advanced Reduction Processes Using the Re-, UV Method. Treatment and Resource Recovery. 2022. 10.1021/acs.est.2c02003