Electrode Information

While titanium and platinum have for a long time been considered relatively inert and biologically compatible materials, some of my customers have expressed concern about the possible toxic effects of titanium. This appears to be mainly due the the article published at www.holisticdental.org/titaniumtoxicity.html which article was removed from the site. Another useful article is found here.

I have asked my scientist consultant, Vinny Pinto at www.h-minus-ion.org about the toxicity of titanium and platinum, and his opinion was that if you are going to use electrolysis to ionize water, titanium and platinum are the best metals to use, and furthermore, even platinum has some toxic effects, but he wouldn't elaborate what those were because he was doing research for another client.

My opinion is that ionized water seems to have a great many benefits which outweight the possible toxic effects of metals. You would by now be aware of these benefits or you wouldn't be reading this. You can consider using detox patches to remove metals from the body.

For the past five years our electrodes have been made from titanium wire, with a rectangle on the end of the wire made from platinum plated titanium. The design of the electrode has being changed to minimize the amount of contact of titanium with water; this is done by use of a polyethylene sleeve to cover the wire. Polyethylene is the same material used to make 1 gallon water jugs, milky white in color with a waxy feel to it. There is still 3/4" or so remnant of titanium wire that attaches to the rectangle, and the sides of the rectangle where they are cut from a bigger sheet are unplated titanium.

Niobium Plated Electrode Option
I am now offering as an option an electrode without the platinum-plated rectangle. This electrode is a wire made from platinum clad niobium (according to my vendor, platinum clad titanium is not available), without a rectangle on the end, just wire. It has the same surface area as the rectangle it replaces. It costs three times as much as the standard electrode; it's just expensive stuff. Niobium (chemical symbol Nb) makes no contact with the water since it is clad in platinum, except at the tip of the wire where it is cut from the spool. The concern for niobium toxicity arises should the platinum cladding disappear.

There is little information on the toxicity of Niobium. The little data available states that niobium is not toxic, but niobium compounds might be. I corresponded with Ulric Schwela, Technical Promotion Officer, Tantalum-Niobium International Study Center (T.I.C.) http://www.tanb.org/, Thornton, Lancashire, England who said the following in several letters (edited):

Niobium is a biocompatible element and is used favourably in body implants e.g. joint replacements. Incidentally this is even more true for tantalum.

There are no reported biological hazards arising from niobium.

I have been advised that niobium is attacked in alkaline beyond pH 12, depending on temperature. It is always attacked when polarised anodically and when the oxide layer is no longer stable, for instance in chloride containing solutions beyond approx. 25 V dc and in sulphate beyond about 60 V dc.

I take it your 1/8 tsp per gallon equates to about 0.2 g/l NaCl solution. There are corrosion tables in Dechema which I am told would provide information for inter alia drinking water and sea water. I do not have access to this source at this time and although I am arranging this it could take a few weeks.

From the limited information to hand it appears a cathode in pH 11.5 should be stable, whereas an anode in pH 2 would corrode at an unspecified rate. Presumably stability would improve markedly if the voltage could be kept to maximum 24 VDC.

The application of even a weak electric current certainly makes a big difference.

In any event any niobium ions in solution would be harmless.
 

How to determine when the platinum has worn off
The process of electrolysis tends to dissolve the platinum into the water over a period of time. You can determine if the platinum plating remains by heating the end of the electrode in a gas flame until it is red hot (this might also work with an electric stove).

For the platinum plated rectangle, first slide the sleeve as far away as possible from the rectangle before heating. When removed from the flame, the platinum will not change color. The titanium will turn dark. Niobium does change color slightly, but unfortunately it still looks shiny like platinum, you have to look carefully.

When the platinum has totally dissolved from the titanium rectangle, the wire will break.