The pickling brine generated from the salting process of kimchi production is difficult to treat biologically due to very high content of salt. When pickling brine is treated and discharged, it cannot satisfy the criteria for effluent water quality in clean areas, while resources such as the salt to be recycled and the industrial water are wasted. However, sterilization by ozone, UV and photocatalyst is expensive installation costs and operating costs when considering the small kimchi manufacturers. Therefore there is a need to develop economical process. The study was conducted on the sterilization efficiency of the pickling brine using electrochemical processing. The electrochemical treatment of organic matters has advantages over conventional methods such as active carbon absorption process, chemical oxidation, and biological treatment because the response speed is faster and it does not require expensive, harmful oxidizing agents. This study were performed to examine the possibility of electrochemical treatment for the efficient processing of pickling brine and evaluated the performance of residual chlorine for the microbial sterilization.

General composition and microbial load of brine recycled to 6 times for Chinese cabbage salting and the quality of Kimchi using every brined cabbage were investigated. The concentration of salt(NaCl) in brine after soaking dropped 1.36-2.49% and pH of the brine changed significantly until 4 times recycling. The acidities were increased as number of recycling increased. The total viable cell count in recycled brine increased from 1.58 × l0^6/mL in the first soaking brine to 2.3 × l0^8/mL in 4th soaking brine which was highest in number. The pure soluble solid and vitamin C content in brine were accumulated to 0.93% and 0.55 ㎎% respectively after 6th recycling. The pH, acidity and sensory evaluation results of Kimchi prepared by Chinese cabbage salted by each brine recycled 6 times showed no significant difference. It means there is a possiblity reusing brine for salting of cabbage for the preparation of Kimchi to 6 times.