Effect of short HV pulses on bacteria and fungi

The survival of three kinds of microorganisms under strong-pulse electric field conditions was investigated with a possible application of the electric pulse method for sterilization of consumable liquids. The results of the investigations of survival ratio of Gram-negative (Escherichia coli, Yersinia enterocolitica) and Gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus, Listeria monocytogenes) bacteria and yeastlike fungi (Candida albicans) are presented. The HV pulses with peak voltage U=0 to 100 kV and rise time t_n= 0.5 to 1.2 μs were applied. The microorganisms were suspended in an NaCl solution with γ=6 to 13 mS/cm conductivity and pH=7.2. The experimental setup and the dependency of the microorganism survival ratio on the rise time, peak voltage and on the number of pulses applied, are presented. It has been found that the lethal effect on microorganisms caused by HV pulses depends on the pulse parameters as well as on the kind of microorganism being treated