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ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGY VERIFICATION REPORT - PHYSICAL REMOVAL OF MICROBIAL CONTAMINATION AGENTS IN DRINKING WATER, WATTS P{REMIER ULTRA 5 REVERSE OSMOSIS DRINKING WATER TREATMENT SYSTEM (POU)
Citation:
NSF International. ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGY VERIFICATION REPORT - PHYSICAL REMOVAL OF MICROBIAL CONTAMINATION AGENTS IN DRINKING WATER, WATTS P{REMIER ULTRA 5 REVERSE OSMOSIS DRINKING WATER TREATMENT SYSTEM (POU). U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC, 2004.
Impact/Purpose:
to present information
Description:
The Watts Premier Ultra 5 system was tested for removal of bacteria and viruses at NSF International's Laboratory. Watts Premier submitted ten units, which were split into two groups of five. One group received 25 days of conditioning prior to challenge testing, while the second group was tested immediately. Both groups were challenged identically. The challenge organisms were the viruses fr, MS2, and Phi X 174, and the bacteria Brevundimonas diminuta and Hydrogenophaga pseudoflava. The test units were challenged at two different inlet pressures - 40 and 80 pounds per square inch, gauge (psig). The virus challenges were conducted at three different pH settings (6, 7.5, and 9) to assess whether pH affects the performance of the reverse osmosis membrane. The bacteria challenges were only conducted at pH 7.5.
Reductions for each group of test units against each challenge organism are presented in the report. A comparison of the log10 reductions of the unconditioned units versus the conditioned units shows that the minimum log10 reductions for the unconditioned units are all lower than those for the conditioned units. This indicates that the conditioning procedure improved and/or stabilized the performance of the RO membrane. The log10 reduction data does not conclusively show whether inlet pressure or pH affected the RO membrane performance.