Why RuO2 IrO2 Coated Titanium Electrodes are Best for Disinfection?

Why RuO2 IrO2 Coated Titanium Electrodes are Best for Disinfection?

Electrochemical water disinfection has many advantages compared with conventional disinfection technologies. It has proven its reliability in several practical applications, mainly for the disinfection of drinking water, swimming pool water, and industrial cooling water. Electrochemical water disinfection has also been used or tested for the reduction of bacterial contamination in dental water supplies and for the disinfection of contact lenses and ion exchange resins etc.

However, only a few electrochemical water disinfection products are currently available on the market. This is due to the relative unfamiliarity of the technology, and to fierce market competition with other technologies.Eventually, the cost and performance advantages of electrochemical technology should lead to its wider use.

RuO2 and/or IrO2-coated electrodes are best suited to disinfection based on hypochlorite generation. This is due to their high production efficiency for hypochlorite from water with a very low chloride content. Pt is the favored electrode material for oxygen production from natural waters. Pt electrodes are also the most stable.

For the production of ozone and hydrogen peroxide, PGM electrodes are not the first choice, being outperformed by carbon electrodes, i.e.doped diamond for ozone, and graphite for hydrogen peroxide production.