History
The history of foundation and development of electrochemical activation is completely concerned with the scientific effort of Vitold Bakhir. In 1972-1973 he discovered nonequivalence of chemical and electrochemical unipolar effect on liquids. At the same time he developed first devices for electrochemical treatment of water and drilling fluids used at oil-well and gasser boring.
The possibility of multiple savings or complete elimination of the consumption of chemical reagents in various technological processes through the use of metastable substances synthesized in electrochemical systems, discovered in the seventies of the last century, was first realized on an industrial scale for the non-reagent management of the properties of drilling fluids and formation water. The world's first publications on the anomalous chemical activity of water after a unipolar electrochemical exposure and the abnormal values ??of the oxidation-reduction potential of electrochemically activated water and solutions appeared in 1974 in the Central Asian Natural Gas Scientific and Research Institute. In 1981 in magazine «Inventor and Rationalizer» there was published an article about questions of effective use of electrochemical activation technology. At that time in countries of the Soviet Union it has been known first of 'live' and 'dead' water, i.e. electrochemically activated catholyte and anolyte.
In 1979-1985 in Central Asian Scientific and Research Institute of natural gas of USSR Ministry of natural gas industry Vitold Bakhir and research workers of his laboratory together with scientists and specialists of various plants carried out experimental researches proved high efficacy of application of electrochemically activated water and solutions in many technological processes in petrochemical, food, military and others industries. In 1979-1985 in the Central Asian Natural Gas Scientific and Research Institute Vitold Bakhir and collaborators from his laboratory together with scientists and specialists of various enterprises conducted experimental studies that proved the high efficiency of using electrochemically activated water and solutions in many technological processes in petrochemical, food, defense and other industries. The construction of new electrochemical devices was carried out by the authors specially for each of the numerous technologies at the request of specialists from various industries. As a result of such cooperation of the authors of unique electrochemical devices and branch specialists technological processes were created that found a long-term practical application. One of such directions in the development of electrochemical activation is the constantly improving technique and technology for obtaining environmentally friendly disinfecting and sterilizing solutions - anolytes - in STEL-type devices.
The design of the cell has always been the main core of the evolution of research and development of the author's team. Search for optimal designs for unipolar (only anodic or only cathodic) effects on various liquids (mineralized, fresh, distilled water, milk, lactoserum, vegetable and mineral oils, petroleum, drilling and grouting solutions, domestic and industrial waste water) with different temperature, flowing at different speeds through the electrode chambers at various pressure differences at the diaphragm, the voltage at the electrodes and the current density gave rise to many different types of electrolyzers, which were produced in single copies or in small lots by various enterprises according to the drawings of the authors and under their supervision. In 1989, the design of a flow-through electrochemical cell with a ceramic diaphragm was created that possessed the necessary properties of a universal electrochemical instrument. This cell provided not only an effective change in the pH and oxidation-reduction properties of various liquids flowing through the electrode chambers by direct flow or counterflow at a controlled differential pressure at the diaphragm, but also a sufficiently deep (60-90%) electrochemical conversion of electrolytes in fresh and low mineralized solutions. This device was named by the authors a flow-through electrochemical modular element known as FEM-1 (UK patent GB 2 253 860). The serial production of FEM elements and electrochemical devices for various purposes was organized.
In 1989-1996 a group of scientists under direction of Vitold Bakhir developed technology of water treatment and conditioning used in EMERALD (IZUMRUD) devices. In next six years they developed AQUACHLOR devices for water treatment and disinfection under use of principally new technology – ion-selective electrolysis with diaphragm. As a whole from 1995 to 2010 it was produced by domestic companies according to Bakhir developments more than 300000 EMERALD (IZUMRUD) devices to provide people with pure water in home and field conditions. In many Russian cities AQUACHLOR devices successfully work at water treatment stations and effectively disinfect drinking water without formation of by-products of chlorination. More than 50 000 STEL devices for producing anolyte of different generations work in medical institutions, in food and pharmaceutical industry in Russia and abroad.
In 2005 Vitold M. Bakhir was rewarded with a medal of the “Services to the Country” order of the 2nd grade for the development and wide practical application of the STEL device for generation of ecologically pure disinfecting detergent and sterilizing solution in the public health service.
In 2005 Vitold Bakhir Electrochemical Systems and Technologies Institute was founded for coordination and development of works in the field of electrochemical activation technology. The Institute provides with the authors control, qualified scientific and technical direction and work coordination in the field of electrochemical activation for development and wide practical use of Vitold Bakhir electrochemical systems and technologies integrated in various technological processes in industry, agriculture, medicine and another fields of human activities. The Institute unites efforts of highly qualified specialists and experts in the field of production and practical use of metastable substances synthesized at places from water and water solutions in special technical electrochemical systems based on module, compact, flow-through diaphragm electrochemical reactors – MB elements (Bakhir modules).
In the beginning of 2011, scientists and specialists of Vitold Bakhir Electrochemical Systems and Technologies Institute completed the next stage of research work on the effect of physical and chemical, filtration properties and structural parameters of ceramic diaphragms on the technological parameters of reactor operation under different conditions. The results of the works served as the basis for the creation of a number of new designs for MB elements. In the design of MB elements with a dielectric case, the problem of self-cleaning of the diaphragm and cathode chamber during operation was solved. The use of cooled anodes also made it possible to increase the productivity of the reactor, and a significant amount of anode space of the elements created conditions for reducing the humidity of electrolysis gases. Thanks to these and other constructive innovations, the duration of the continuous operation of MB elements with dielectric case has increased more than 10 times. The technology of direct production of hypochlorous acid in the concentration range from 15 to 20% was first developed on MB elements with a dielectric body.
At the end of 2015, research work in the field of development and improvement of the technology of ion-selective electrolysis with a diaphragm, carried out by the authors of this technology for many years, allowed the development of new generation electrochemical modular elements whose current density far exceeds the analogous parameters for elements of previous generations (1000 - 3000 amperes per liter in MB elements of new generation (2016) against 200 - 500 amperes per liter in MB elements of all previous generations). The use of modular electrochemical elements of new (2016) generation in the existing STEL, IZUMRUD, AQUACHLOR, ECOCHLOR and other devices allowed to increase several times their productivity while maintaining the same size and weight, and also opened the way to the creation of a whole series of fundamentally new electrochemical systems of the most diverse destination.
Many unique system and technologies, developed for special projects and orders by directing scientific agency (ссылка на http://vbi.naverh.com/about/structure/) – Vitold Bakhir Institute - have being used and prepared for a wide practical application in various fields.
