Effect of electrostatic atomization on electrical sterilization

This paper presents an experimental study to find the best conditions for sterilizing Escherichia coli using electrostatic atomization. Sterilization of E. coli in suspension has been performed previously using electrostatic atomization of suspended. E. coli dispersed in deionized water. In our experiments, the survival rate of E. coli was measured as a function of the peak electric field strength, as well as the diameters of the ring and needle electrodes used in the experiment. The experimental results show a lowest survivability rate of 37.2% which occurs at 10 kV dc using a ring electrode of diameter 40 mm, and a needle electrode of diameter 0.45 mm.