Water disinfection means the removal, deactivation or killing of pathogenic microorganisms. Microorganisms are destroyed or deactivated, resulting in termination of growth and reproduction. When microorganisms are not removed from drinking water, drinking water usage will cause people to fall ill.

Sterilization is a process related to disinfection. However, during the sterilization process all present microorganisms are killed, both harmful and harmless microorganisms.

 

For chemical disinfection of water the following disinfectants can be used:

- Chlorine (Cl2)

- Chlorine dioxide (ClO2)

- Hypo chlorite (OCl-)

- Ozone (O3)

For physical disinfection of water the following disinfectants can be used:

- Ultraviolet light (UV)