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Abstract
Disinfection is a critical process for preventing microbial contamination of water and surfaces, thereby protecting public health. Increasing hygiene needs and the need for a safe water supply necessitate effective and sustainable disinfectant generation. The study covers the examination and development of on-site disinfectant generation by electrooxidation method. With this process, disinfectants can be generated at the site of use in the required quantities. In addition, the fact that the generated disinfectant can be used without storage causes its disinfectant activity to be high, which makes disinfection more effective. An electro-oxidation reactor with 100 × 100 × 200 mm dimensions was designed, utilizing F-type titanium cathodes and IrO₂-RuO₂ coated F-type titanium anodes. The effects of experimental parameters, such as pH (5-8), flow rate (20-100 mL/min), current intensity (5-25 A), and NaCl concentration (1-5 M), were investigated. Based on the obtained data, the most efficient active chlorine gen-eration occurred at pH 7. As the flow rate increased, residence time in the reactor decreased, leading to reduced energy consumption. Considering both energy efficiency and disinfectant generation, the optimum flow rate was determined as 40 mL/min. Current intensity up to 20 A increased disinfectant generation; however, the expected rise at 25 A was not observed. Thus, the optimum current intensity was selected as 20 A. Salt concentrations up to 3 M enhanced disinfectant generation, but higher concentrations did not yield further improvements. Under optimum conditions (pH 7, 40 mL/min flow rate, 20 A current intensity, 3 M salt concentration), 5450 mg/L of disinfectant was generated. Additional experiments to assess higher current intensities and saturated salt concentrations demonstrated 7750 ppm disinfectant generation at 50 A, placing this value among the highest reported in the literature. This study evaluates a broad range of parameters to determine optimal conditions, demonstrating that the disinfectant yield from this reactor is applicable for both laboratory-scale and field applications.
