Making waves: Pathogen inactivation by electric field treatment: From liquid food to drinking water

Abstract Conventional water disinfection with chlorine is limited by the inconvenience of their transportation and storage and by the production of potentially harmful disinfection by-products (DBPs). Electric field treatment (EFT), formally studied for food processing, inactivates pathogens by damaging cell membranes through irreversible electroporation. Electroporation is a physical phenomenon, which potentially avoids the use of chemical disinfectants and the formation of DBPs. Nevertheless, EFT has rarely been considered to disinfect water, let alone large-scale industrial applications. In this article, we aim to discuss the feasibility of EFT as an alternative drinking water disinfection technology. We briefly summarize the recent advances of EFT for pathogen inactivation with a focus on industrial applications in food processing. Subsequently, we introduce the basics of EFT and analyze its feasibility to be implemented in water disinfection. We believe that EFT has the potential to become a competitive candidate in the technology toolbox of water disinfection. High energy consumption is identified as the major barrier, which can potentially be overcome by reducing the distance between the electrodes or applying a locally enhanced electric field. Lastly, we discuss the research needs and call for actions of researchers in different disciplines to promote the implementation of EFT in water disinfection.