Premium
Efficacy of three prevention strategies against legionella in cooling water systems
Author(s) -
Kusnetsov J.M.,
Tulkki A.I.,
Ahonen H.E.,
Martikainen P.J.
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
journal of applied microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.889
H-Index - 156
eISSN - 1365-2672
pISSN - 1364-5072
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-2672.1997.00151.x
Subject(s) - biocide , legionella , water cooling , water quality , environmental science , environmental engineering , bacteria , pulp and paper industry , waste management , toxicology , environmental chemistry , microbiology and biotechnology , chemistry , biology , ecology , engineering , mechanical engineering , genetics , organic chemistry
The efficacy of three different prevention strategies on legionella in cooling systems was studied. The strategies were as follows: (1) water temperature was lowered; (2) water quality was improved; or (3) the system was disinfected with polyhexamethylene biguanidechloride (PHMB) biocide or with 2‐bromo‐2‐nitropropane‐1,3‐diol (BNPD) biocide. Lowering of water temperature was the most effective method to reduce the concentration of legionella in cooling systems. Improving of water quality resulted in a transitory disinfection effect. The additions of PHMB or BNPD decreased the concentrations of both legionella and heterotrophic bacteria in cooling water. The effect of biocides, however, lasted at the most only a few months. If possible, lowering water temperature and improving the water quality should be the primary practices for controlling bacterial growth in cooling systems. Regular biocide treatments should be incorporated into the maintenance procedures if technical improvements cannot be done or if their efficiency is too low.