Xylem’s new, closed-vessel WEDECO BX and Quadron series UV systems are designed for inactivating fish pathogens and produced in duplex stainless steel capable of resisting the corrosive effect of saltwater.
The new WEDECO units will enable customers to handle pressurized flows ranging from 10 to more than 4,000 cubic meters per hour. Xylem has also added new systems made of saltwater resistant polyethylene (HDPE) to its WEDECO BX series and TAK Smart open channel solution.
Xylem’s WEDECO brand is a world leader in UV technology. Large-scale fish farms in areas of Europe such as Norway, a country with some of the longest established and most advanced aquaculture industries, and North and South America, rely on Xylem’s disinfection equipment to protect their fish livestock from the spread of diseases and ensure clean, safe water for their aquaculture businesses.
Xylem’s UV solutions for the aquaculture sector are approved by the Norwegian Veterinary Institute (NVI) and validated according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) standards.
Wolf Meese, business development manager for Xylem said: “These new systems expand the WEDECO UV portfolio designed to meet the specific needs of the aquaculture industry. The duplex stainless steel reactors allow us to offer solutions with higher flow rates that require a minimum of energy and space to operate. We have over 30 years of proven experience in designing UV and ozone water treatment solutions to protect fish against pathogens in a range of applications including water intake, recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS) and effluent. Through our other Xylem brands, including YSI, WTW, MJK, Flygt, Lowara and Standard Xchange, we also have an extensive offering in measurement instrumentation, flow/level control, pumping, and heat exchange technologies.”
Aquaculture is the most rapidly growing sector of food production worldwide. Higher fish density can lead to pathogen increase which is a significant threat to aquaculture operations. According to a 2012 ‘World Review of Fisheries and Aquaculture' report, ‘disease outbreaks in recent years…have affected farmed Atlantic salmon in Chile, oysters in Europe, and marine shrimp farming in several countries in Asia, South America and Africa, resulting in partial or sometimes total loss of production.’ Disinfection by UV or ozone can reduce the risk of disease in aquaculture systems and results in less need for vaccination, higher growth rates and decreased mortality.
