Water is an important resource that is used for many commercial purposes, such as agriculture and swimming pools as well as for household use. Furthermore, clean water that is free from unhealthy chemicals and microorganism is becoming a more precious resource as populations increase. Disinfection of water to remove chemicals and/or microorganisms is an important way to acquire clean water. The use of ultraviolet (UV) light as a disinfecting agent is well known and useful since it leaves no toxic residue in the water. However, the elements of conventional UV reactors are usually submerged in water and mineral deposits or soils therein will attach to the elements thereof and cause energy loss.
Ozone also has the advantage of leaving no residue and is often used in treating water. When ozone is applied to water treatment, a gas-liquid mixer should be provided to dissolve ozone into water. However, conventional gas-liquid mixer utilizing Venturi Tubes have the disadvantages of a low gas dissolving rate and leakage of gas. The problem has been substantially overcome by the techniques disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,534,023, which relates to a fluid dynamic ozone generating assembly.
Accordingly, using both ozone and UV light to treat water can produce highly purified water. Conventionally two separate processes and devices for using ozone and using UV light to treat water are required to obtain the highly purified water. Therefore, it is desirable to provide a single device that can simultaneously mix ozone and water, and radiate the same. It is further desirable that the device be provided with a washing assembly for removing accretions on elements of the device.