What work has been done on using H2O2 in place of chlorine as a disinfectant for water?
Compared to chlorine (or ozone, chlorine dioxide, or uv-light), H2O2 is a rather poor disinfectant and is not approved as a stand-alone treatment for microbial control in water systems. Consequently, it is unlikely that any stand-alone process will be available in the foreseeable future. On the other hand, H2O2 can be used to improve the performance of certain other disinfection methods (e.g., ozonation and UV-photolysis). For non-potable water treatment (e.g., cooling water circuits), there is active development and commercialization of both H2O2-derived disinfectants (e.g., peracetic acid) and combination treatments with biguanide-type quaternary ammonium compounds. We will be adding more information about this area to our website in the near future — stay tuned.
