Optimization of electrolysis process, storage conditions and sterilization effect of slightly acidic electrolytic water prepared by titanium suboxide electrode

Slightly acidic electrolyzed (SAEW) is a new electrochemical fungicide containing a certain amount of active chlorine and active oxygen. SAEW has the characteristics of broad spectrum, harmless and high efficiency of sterilization. At present, there is little systematic research on the preparation, storage and sterilization of SAEW. However, the anode material, preparation parameters and storage conditions are crucial to the performance indicators and sterilization effect of SAEW. In this paper, titanium suboxide electrode with better safety was used as anode. Firstly, we investigated the effects of various preparation parameters (NaCl concentration, NaCl and HCl mixture concentration and current density) on the preparation of SAEW. The optimized preparation parameters were 1.0 g L⁻¹ of NaCl and HCl mixed to an initial pH of 2.7 and a current density of 15 mA cm⁻². Next, the effects of different storage conditions (open-dark, closed-dark, closed-light, open-light) on its indexes were investigated. It was confirmed that the optimal storage condition was closed-dark. Finally, the sterilization effect on Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Canidia albicans was investigated. The best sterilization effect was E. coli, and the sterilization effect of all three bacteria gradually increased with the extension of contact time. The above study shows that SAEW prepared by titanium suboxide electrode has good performance in terms of performance indexes and sterilization effect, and has the prospect of practicality.