Development of a portable electrolytic sanitising unit for the production of neutral electrolysed water

•A portable and affordable sanitising unit was successfully developed.•Partial catholyte solution was reintroduced to produce neutral electrolysed water.•Box-Behnken design was used to develop models.•Electrolysed water generated with this unit showed strong bactericidal activity.

The aim of this study was to develop and evaluate the characteristics and performance of a portable electrolytic sanitising unit. Free available chlorine (FAC), oxidation-reduction potential, and pH of electrolysed water were measured. Response surface methodology coupled with a Box-Behnken design was used to describe the input-output relationship and optimise FAC production. A partial catholyte solution was reintroduced to electrolysis for generating neutral electrolysed water. The result found that RuO2-IrO2/TiO2 electrode was very effective. A FAC concentration of 4 mg/L achieved >2 log CFU/mL reduction, while a FAC concentration of 40 mg/L achieved >6 log CFU/mL reduction in Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Listeria monocytogenes BAA-839. The developed sanitiser had a pH of 7.08 ± 0.08, and the commercial sanitiser had a pH of 3.77 ± 0.18. The developed sanitiser had similar bactericidal effects as the commercial sanitiser. The results revealed that the developed sanitising unit is promising for the control of foodborne pathogens.