Low(est) Energy Disinfection Using Pasteurization – Results of Demonstration Scale Testing in Ventura California

Pasteurization has come a long way. Louis Pasteur might not recognize the tools, but the concept of pasteurization employed now in Ventura California is the same one that he perfected 150 years ago in France. This latest incarnation of pasteurization began in 2003 by a small think-tank, now called the Pasteurization Technology Group (PTG). In 2005, PTG brought there concept of pasteurization to our industry. By 2007, pasteurization had received the coveted Title 22 approval for reclaimed water disinfection, demonstrating that heating secondary effluent and filtered effluent to 155 to 180 degrees F resulted in robust kill of all studied pathogens. The next step was economics. Pasteurization works efficiently for two reasons. First, the heat source for pasteurization is waste heat. Second, the PTG pasteurization process captures and holds that waste heat. Simply put, cold water in and out, heat in the middle (Figure 1). For Figure 1, the waste heat is heat coming off of a gas turbine.