Decentralized drinking water production continues to face challenges in achieving acceptable standards for human consumption. This is mainly due to difficulty in developing treatments that can operate effectively in low-resource settings, either due to complications associated with providing the system in a decentralized context or overall unsatisfactory performance of the technology adopted. Electrochemical systems are emerging technologies within decentralized settings which provide many advantages to being adapted in resource-limited areas. This study focuses on understanding the mechanisms behind the electrochemical
disinfection for the treatment of surface water. Laboratory experiments were conducted to evaluate the performance of an RuO2/IrO2 and a Magneli-phase reactor for the disinfection of a bacteria species, Escherichia Coli, and a virus species, ΦX174. The two reactors are characterised in terms of distinct anodic properties and their performance is assessed by promoting different electrochemical reactions for the generation of various disinfectant agents within the electrochemical cell, with specific focus on the formation of chlorine and Reactive
Oxygen Species (ROS). Chlorine-based disinfection proved to be the primary agent in the removal of both pathogens; a 4 log removal for E. Coli was achieved at an energy use of 0.41 kWh/m3 for RuO2/IrO2 and of 0.31 kWh/m3 forMagneli, and a 5 log removal for ΦX174 was achieved at 2.88 kWh/m3 for RuO2/IrO2 and for 1.18 kWh/m3 for Magneli.
To further assess the viability for the treatment of surface waters in decentralized settings, the RuO2/IrO2 was also tested in a field setting in Ghana making use of different water types to compare the utility in using an electrochemical reactor to produce chlorine for disinfection as compared to traditional disinfection methods.  Seawater, lagoon and river water were tested, achieving an energy use per gram of produced chlorine of 0.007, 0.046 and 0.066 kWh/gchlorine for a produced chlorine dose of 35 mg/L for seawater and 5 mg/L for the lagoon and river water. With these results, chlorine can be produced from river water at an equivalent dosage to traditional chlorine tablets, and at a cost that is 40 times lower.

Man made emergent contaminants are posing a big treat to the environment and human health. Their accumulation in water resources threatens the ecosystem equilibrium and challenges the current technologies to produce safe drinking water. This research explores anode oxidation (AO) using a Magnéli phase reactive electrochemical membrane (REM) flowthrough reactor as an alternative to treat reverse osmosis concentrate (ROC) water containing a broad list of organic micropollutants (OMPs). ROC water produced in two drinking water treatment facilities in the Netherlands was used to test the technology. This study searches for insights to manage ROC waste containing recalcitrant OMPs and safely discharge effluent to surface water.

Throughout laboratory experimentation, the effectivity of degrading OMPs (per- polyfluoroalkyl substances, pharmaceuticals, corrosion inhibitors, and synthetic dyes) was investigated. Main findings suggest that 100 mg/L Methylene blue (MB) spiked in an artificial water matrix is completely mineralized after an applied charge dosage (CD) of 22.56 kC/L. Additionally, pharmaceuticals spiked in artificial water matrix and ROC were degraded above 80% after applying a charge dosage of 5.64 kC/L. Finally, PFOA and PFOS degradation for drinking water utilities 1 & 2 resulted in an average of 49.5 and 76.90 % respectively after applying 120 kC/L.

Moreover, it was found that hardness in water inhibits the degradation capacity reducing the effective area of the anode with scaling deposition. Besides, the calcium and magnesium content slightly increases the energy consumption and the frequency of chemical cleaning required to maintain the reactor. The Magneli REM reactor has capabilities to degrade OMPs when treating ROC. Operational parameters such as flow rate, and CD can be adjusted to obtain better degradation rates. However, the treated water could contain byproducts with recalcitrant properties and high toxicity (for instance, ultra and, short chain PFAS, bromate, chlorates and perchlorates). For that reason, monitoring and further treatment is recommended to safely discharge back to surface water.