It is generally believed that chlorine disinfection mainly works through HCLO hypochlorite. When chlorine or hypochlorous acid is added to water, it will be hydrolyzed and dissociated first, and mainly converted into substances such as HCLO and clo-.Because HCLO is an electrically neutral molecule with very small molecular weight, it is easy to penetrate into the surface of negatively charged bacteria, and penetrate into the cell through the cell wall, destroying the enzyme system of bacteria through oxidation and causing bacteria to die.
The outstanding advantages of liquid chlorine disinfection are the continuous disinfection of residual chlorine, low price, simple operation and no need for huge equipment. But chlorine itself is toxic, so we must pay attention to safety when using it to prevent leakage. And water disinfected by chlorine often produces a variety of harmful substances, especially the disinfection by-products, such as chloroform and chloroacetic acid. In addition, liquid chlorine can not effectively kill cryptosporidium and its cysts, so chlorine disinfection is gradually being replaced by other disinfection methods.
Chlorine dioxide is very effective for disinfection if it does not act on the metal surface for a long time.