Why Electrochemical Disinfection is the Best Solution for Swimming Pool Water Treatment?

Why Electrochemical Disinfection is the Best Solution for Swimming Pool Water Treatment?

Swimming pool users are a source of various contaminants and microorganisms coming from the skin, genitals, feet, armpits, or fecal accidents. Conventional chlorine-based reagents treatment is commonly used to disinfect water. However, this disinfection treatment can present various inconveniences such as the formation of carcinogenic byproducts.

Other techniques such as ozonation, ultraviolet treatment, filtration, etc., are expensive or less effective. Nevertheless, potentially greener and more efficient technologies electrochemical disinfection processes have been recently proposed as alternatives to conventional methods.

Electrochemical disinfection is among various advanced oxidation processes based upon the in-situ generation of powerful reactive oxygen species (ROS). These ROS have higher oxidation potential compared to chlorine and derivatives. In fact, free radicals alone are 105 times more potential as compared to chlorine compounds. Moreover, these species are highly reactive and nonselective towards pollutants.

During the electrochemical disinfection process, the disinfection can occur by the means of direct oxidation of microbes on the anode’s surface caused by electron exchange and hydroxyl radicals.
Producing from the anodic oxidation of water indirect oxidation by in situ generations of various oxidants (HClO, O3, H2S2O8, H2O2, etc.) in the bulk are capable of destroying organic pollutants and disinfect swimming water.
 
Consequently, this process may minimize the addition, manipulation, and storage of chemical reagents as well as the formation of disinfection by-products. The performance of the electrochemical system was evaluated by studying the effect of current intensity (0.5-3.0A), treatment time, anode type, and the initial concentration of pathogens.