BIOCIDES

A biocide is a chemical substance capable of killing living organisms, usually in a selective way. Biocides are commonly used in medicine, agriculture, forestry, and in industry where they prevent the fouling of water and oil pipelines.

Some substances used as biocides are also employed as anti-fouling agents or disinfectants under other circumstances: chlorine, for example, is used as a short-life biocide in industrial water treatment but as a disinfectant in swimming pools.

Biocides are usually slug fed to a system to bring about rapid effective population reductions from which the microrganisms cannot easily recover. There are various different biocides, some of which have a wide range of effect on many different kinds of bacteria. They can be divided up into oxidising agents and non-oxidising agents.

Oxidising agents:

Chlorine
Chlorine dioxide
Hypochlorite
Ozone

Non-oxidising agents:

Dibromopropionide
Isothiazalone
Gluteraldehyde
Bronopol
Quaternary ammonium salts

In many cases oxidising agents are not effective biocides. Non-oxidising agents are then applied.