FURI | Fall 2022

Engineering Water Disinfection via On-Site Electrochlorination and Electrochlorine Breakpoint

On-site electrochlorination is a promising solution for decentralized water treatment since it is easy to operate and sustains long-term disinfection. This work investigated the impact of electrocatalyst selection on active chlorine generation including Ti/RuO2, Ti/IrO2, and BDD. Operating parameters like current density, chloride concentration and cross velocity were evaluated using an engineered plug-flow electrochemical cell and chosen to simulate real-world household conditions. The results demonstrated the most promising anode material was Ti/RuO2 reaching free chlorine concentrations as high as 14 ppm in a single pass. Furthermore, chlorine breakpoint was explored in the context of electrochlorination to understand the influence of ammonia on electrochemically driven technologies.