ALN logo; link to Arid Lands Newsletter Home page ALN No. 57, May/June 2005
Water efficiency II: Rural areas and agriculture

Reed et al., Table 1: Solar disinfection effectiveness, compared by bottle type

Backing surface:
90% inactivation time (minutes):
 
low sunlight*
(<300 W m -2)
moderate sunlight*
(300-700 W m -2 )
high sunlight** (>700 W m -2)
transmissive

153

89

58

absorptive
117
68
48
reflective
175
84
49

* mean values based on 7 experiments
** mean values based on 8 experiments

Inactivation of a suspension of fecal bacteria (Escherichia coli ATCC11775) in water kept in sunlight within custom-made 1-liter solar disinfection bottles with either transmissive, reflective or absorptive backings as a function of average solar irradiance during the illumination period. Data are based on standard aerobic plate counts obtained on nutrient agar after 24 hours incubation at 37°C.

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