Electrochemical inactivation of Escherichia coli using platinized titanium electrodes: a comparison between two- and three-electrode configurations

This study explores the feasibility of using platinized titanium electrodes for the electrochemical inactivation of Escherichia coli (E. coli), with the aim of developing an efficient and sustainable water disinfection method in low ionic strength media similar to what exists in potable water. A comparative analysis between two-electrode and three-electrode configurations revealed the superiority of the three-electrode system in achieving higher current throughput and enhanced bacterial inactivation efficiency. This improvement is attributed to the potentiostat’s ability to compensate for solution resistance (IR drop) through the inclusion of the reference electrode, ensuring more stable and controlled electrochemical conditions. The inactivation of E. coli in various electrolyte solutions followed a logarithmic decay pattern (pseudo first-order), with no significant difference observed among the electrolytes tested, except for sodium chloride. The enhanced bactericidal activity in the presence of NaCl was attributed to the generation of chlorine species. These findings provide insights into optimizing electrochemical disinfection systems and highlight the potential of three-electrode configurations for practical water treatment applications in low-conductivity environments.