본 연구에서는 무격막식 전기분해 처리된 해수를 산화제로하는 NO 산화반응의 특성에 대해 실험적으로 살펴보았다. 폐순환 정전류 전기분해 시스템을 통해전해 시간이 길어질수록 전해수의 유효 염소농도와 온도, 염소산 이온의 비율이 증가함을 확인하였다. 전해수가 채워진 버블링 반응기에서 전해수의 유효염소농도와 온도에 비례하여 NO2로 산화되는 NO의 양이 증가하였다. 또한 산화되어 생성된 NO2는 전해수에 용해되어 HNO3- 이온으로 존재함을 확인하였다.

Insoluble catalytic electrodes were fabricated by RF magnetron sputtering of Pt on Ti substrates and the performance of seawater electrolysis was compared in these electrodes to that is DSA electrodes. The Pt-sputtered insoluble catalytic electrodes were nearly 150 nm-thick with a roughness of 0.18μm, which is 1/660 and 1/12 of these values for the DSA (dimensionally stable anodes) electrodes. The seawater electrolysis performance levels were determined through measurements of the NaOCl concentration, which was the main reaction product after electrolysis using artificial seawater. The NaOCl concentration after 2 h of electrolysis with artificial seawater, which has 3.5% NaCl normally, at current densities of 50, 80 and 140 mA/cm2 were 0.76%, 1.06%, and 2.03%, respectively. A higher current density applied through the electrodes led to higher electrolysis efficiency. The efficiency reached nearly 58% in the Pt-sputtered samples after 2 h of electrolysis. The reaction efficiency of DSA showed higher values than that of the Pt-sputtered insoluble catalytic electrodes. One plausible reason for this is the higher specific surface area of the DSA electrodes; the surface cracks of the DSAs resulted in a higher specific surface area and higher reaction sites. Upon the electrolysis process, some Mg- and Ca-hydroxides, which were minor components in the artificial seawater, were deposited onto the surface of the electrodes, resulting in an increase in the electrical resistances of the electrodes. However, the extent of the increase ranged from 4% to 7% within an electrolysis time of 720 h.

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) ballast water management agreement (International Convention for the Control and Management of Ship's Ballast Water and Sediments) came into force on September 8, 2017. This study evaluated the disinfection performance of electrolysis, UV treatment, and electrolysis + UV combined, to improve the treatment of zooplankton (size ≥ 50 μm), which is expected to strengthen the standards for biodegradation efficiency. Among the methods used, the disinfection time leading to 100% death was in the order: electrolysis > electrolysis + UV > UV process. For the same level of disinfection performance, the amount of electricity required for the electrolysis, UV, and electrolysis + UV processes were 1,300 W.s, 8,400 W.S, and 4,500 W.s, respectively. The combination of electrolysis + UV process for inactivation of zooplankton in ballast water did not show a synergic effect owing to the slow disinfection time and high power consumption.

To increase electrolysis performance, the applicability of seawater to the iron-fed electro-Fenton process was considered. Three kinds of graphite electrodes (activated carbon fiber-ACF, carbon felt, graphite) and dimensionally stable anode (DSA) electrode were used to select a cathode having excellent hydrogen peroxide generation and organic decomposition ability. The concentration of hydrogen peroxide produced by ACF was 11.2 mg/L and those of DSA, graphite, and carbon felt cathodes were 12.9 ~ 13.9 mg/L. In consideration of durability, the DSA electrode was selected as the cathode. The optimum current density was found to be 0.11 A/cm2, the optimal Fe2+ dose was 10 mg/L, and the optimal ratio of Fe2+ dose and hydrogen peroxide was determined to be 1:1. The optimum air supply for hydrogen peroxide production and Rhodamine B (RhB) degradation was determined to be 1 L/min. The electro-Fenton process of adding iron salt to the electrolysis reaction may be shown to be more advantageous for RhB degradation than when using iron electrode to produce hydrogen peroxide and iron ion, or electro-Fenton reaction with DSA electrode after generating iron ions using an iron electrode.