Disinfection of Escherichia Coli in water using moderate electric and magnetic fields

Abstract

Bacteria play a key role in both human health and disease. One of the most prevalent harmful bacteria is E. coli which is responsible for several illnesses ranging from diarrhea, stomach cramp and fever. In this work we explore the application of moderate electric or magnetic fields for treating distilled and deionized water that is contaminated with E. coli. We found that moderate alternating current (AC) electric fields (10 V/cm to 1kV/cm) and moderate static magnetic fields (10 mT to 65 mT) can significantly inactivate E. coli by up to 90% or more. This provides the possibilities of developing a low cost and a practical bacteria inactivation technique using electric or magnetic fields.