ELECTROCHEMICAL DISINFECTION OF DRINKING-WATER USING AN ACTIVATED-CARBON-FIBER REACTOR CAPABLE OF MONITORING ITS MICROBIAL FOULING

An electrochemical reactor employing activated carbon fibers (ACF) was constructed for the disinfection of bacteria in drinking water. The a pplication of an alternating potential of 1.0 V and -0.8 V versus a sa turated calomel electrode, for disinfecting and desorbing bacteria, en abled reactor operation for 840 h. Drinking water was passed through t he reactor in stop/flow mode: 300 ml/min flow for 12 h and no flow for 12 h, alternatively. The bacterial cell density in treated water was always been less than 20 cells/ml. It was also found that the formatio n of biofilm on the ACF reactor caused an increase in current, enablin g the self-detection of microbial fouling.