Maritime vessels being protected from biofilms & Legionella
Thousands of miles from the nearest medical center, preventing disease or illness is of special significance on board cruise ships or other ocean going vessels. In order to ensure a healthy ship, the highest level of sanitation must be maintained. That means constant cleaning, with a lot of chemicals. Staff complain of dry, irritated skin. Toxic chemical concentrate storage and disposal takes up valuable space; and even so, outbreaks of norovirus illness on ships are quickly picked up by the news media.
The irony is that cruise ships are likely much safer than land based built environments, but because everyone is together for several days at a time, the cruise lines have gotten a bad rap whereas norovirus transmission sources on land rarely implicate the owners of a building. ECA solutions provide a comprehensive solution for cruise ships and other vessels: manufacturing on-site cuts costs and saves pace; these solutions are non-irritating and do not require special handling; and most importantly, they are the gold-standard in eliminating and inactivating harmful pathogens.
You can also fill spray bottles with anolyte solutions, and catholyte solutions can be used to fill deck (floor) and carpet cleaning machines. Moreover, ECA is effective at disinfecting and treating potable water too. Just as ECA solutions provide biofilm free water lines in dental universities and hospitals, so too they can be used on Cruise ships and other maritime vessels where biofilms and legionella are a concern.
ABOUT ECA
ECA stands for electrochemical activation and is a technology that has been employed for more than 100 years, although it was not until the 1970s that the physicochemical properties of ECA were extensively researched at the All-Russian Institute for Medical Engineering.
The transformation of low mineral salt solutions into an activated metastable state, by electrochemical unipolar action, generates two separate and distinct compounds, generically termed anolyte and catholyte which correspond to their derivative electrode chambers:
The use of electrolysis for the production of reductant-oxidant solutions is used in the processes of water purification and decontamination, as well as for transforming water or diluted electrolyte solutions into environmentally friendly anti-microbial, washing, extractive and other functionally useful solutions.
This is largely due to ECA high activity, use of cheap raw materials and ease of production.
The system produces a liquid disinfectant, non-toxic and degradable, capable of destroying bacteria, spores, viruses, moulds, yeasts, fungi, biofilms (biological incrustations) on pipes and removing odours. Its operation requires only water, Sodium or Potassium Chloride (salt) and electricity.
HOW ECA WORKS
ECA works the same way as the human immune system. When the body is under attack from invading bacteria and viruses, the immune system immediately responds by sending neutrophils (white blood cells) to the invasion site.
Neutrophils are one of the body’s main defences against bacteria and, once activated, produce large amounts of a mixed oxidant solution which is effective in eliminating invading microbes and pathogens.
This weak acid, which occurs naturally in the human body, is called hypochlorous acid (HClO) and it is a potent disinfectant. It is non-toxic to humans and is highly effective as an antimicrobial agent with rapid action. Hypochlorous acid is widely recognized as one of the most effective known biocides.
In detail, the system consists of an electrolysis cell containing two electrodes, a cathode and an anode, separated by a diaphragmatic membrane. In the cell is injected an aqueous solution consisting of filtered and softened water and, depending on the application, sodium chloride (NaCl, salt) or potassium chloride (KCl). With the use of electricity with predefined and controlled amperage and voltage values, the cell produces an electrically-activated liquid, Anolyte, with high disinfection power that can be used in a variety of applications.
This unipolar electrochemical activation created by potential gradients of millions of volts per cm2 between the anode and cathode terminals, results in the creation of solutions whose pH, Oxidation Reduction Potentials (ORP) and other physicochemical properties, lie outside of the range which can be achieved by conventional chemical means.
CHARACTERISTIC AND ADVANTAGES OF ELECTRO-ACTIVATED SOLUTIONS
Electro-activated solutions produced by the system are respectively:
| Solution | Active Element | pH | ORP/REDOX |
|---|---|---|---|
| Acid Anolyte | Active Cl 500 / 700 ppm | 2.5 / 5.0 | 1200 / 1000 mV |
| Neutral Anolyte | Active Cl 500 / 700 ppm | 6.0 / 8.0 | 950 / 850 mV |
| Catolyte | Sodium hydroxide 1000 ppm | 10.0 / 12.0 | -800 / -900 mV |
As presented in several scientific publications, multicellular organisms, including humans and hot blood mammals, to defend themselves against pathogens and foreign microorganisms are able to synthesize, through metabolism, complex mixtures of metastable oxidizing compounds.
These compounds possess a wide spectrum of action and are capable of damaging all major systemic groups of pathogenic microorganisms (bacteria, mycobacteria, viruses, moulds, spores, etc.) without damaging multicellular organisms and human tissues.
The oxidizing liquids and their chemical production mechanisms are similar to those generated in our ECA system and are precisely these common characteristics that give Anolyte a high biocompatibility with human tissues and multicellular organisms besides not being toxic to the environment.
Anolyte has the following advantages:
Anolyte and Catholyte also have the following characteristics:
