An Electroporation System for Cold Water Sterilization

The development of an electroporation system is proposed for cold sterilization of wastewater in water reclamation. Higher strength electric fields (10 KV/cm) are generated in short DC pulses for microbial cell inactivation. Electroporation employs electric fields to cause transient or permanent changes in cell membrane permeability. At higher field strengths, permanent changes result in the death or inactivation of the cell. Laboratory experimentation by the principal investigator has already demonstrated wastewater disinfection using a bench electroporator. Pulsed electric DC fields of short millisecond duration and low duty cycle (1-10 Hertz) with virtually no current result in very low power usage. Initial system development will emphasize bacterial sterilization, but the technology may be extended later to protozoal cysts and other pathogens. In Phase I, a bench-scale (0.5 inch diameter pipe) flow-through system will be designed, constructed and tested for wastewater sterilization application. The design specification for a full-scale system along with estimated capital and operating costs will also be developed for implementation in a Phase II follow-on program.