Thermal disinfection

Definition

The use of elevated temperature and exposure time to kill microorganisms regardless of pH, uptake, or metabolic state.

Heat is the most honest biocide because at sufficient temperature and time biology simply cannot survive, with kill becoming faster as temperature rises. It works only where heat reaches every surface and remains long enough, so biofilm insulation, cool dead legs, and rapid heat dissipation leave protected survivors. Partial heating clears the easy territory and leaves the protected zones intact, so the access problem applies to thermal treatment as much as to chemical treatment.

Related concepts

Legionella · Contact time · Dead leg

---

Part of The Blueprint of Water · 🛠️ operations