Decentralized production system of anolyte disinfectant: Design and optimization of Cu-electrode based membraneless electrolysis cell

The global demand for effective and accessible disinfectants has surged due to infectious disease outbreaks, necessitating robust decentralized production systems. This study presents the design and optimization of a membrane-less electrolysis cell utilizing copper electrodes to produce high-purity Hypochlorous Acid (HOCl) disinfectant. The research focused on optimizing operational parameters, specifically salt mass, electrical current, and retention time to achieve a target pH range of 6.0–6.5, which ensures the predominance of the active antimicrobial agent HOCl. Experimental results indicated that a configuration of 100 g NaCl and 1.0 A current yielded the optimal pH stability 2. The system was successfully scaled up to electrolyte volumes of 2, 4, 5, and 6 Liters, with determined retention times of 10, 25, 30, and 45 minutes, respectively. Physicochemical characterization via X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) identified copper-based precipitates (Cu(OH)₂ and CuCl₂) at the cell bottom, which informed the design of a filtered bottom-center outlet to ensure product purity. Back titration analysis confirmed the minimization of alkaline byproducts, with a residual NaOH concentration of approximately 0.001 M. Furthermore, antimicrobial efficacy tests demonstrated that the produced anolyte achieved complete inactivation of Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus within one minute of contact time. These findings validate the proposed system as a cost-effective and scalable solution for the decentralized production of potent disinfectants.