Decomposition of ethylene, a flower-senescence hormone, with electrolyzed anode water.

Abstract

Electrolyzed anode water (EAW) markedly extended the vase life of cut carnation flowers. Therefore, a flower-senescence hormone involving ethylene decomposition by EAW with potassium chloride as an electrolyte was investigated. Ethylene was added externally to EAW, and the reaction between ethylen and the available chlorine in EAW was examined. EAW had a low pH value (2.5), a high concentration of dissolved oxygen, and extremely high redox potential (19.2 mg/l and 1323 mV, respectively) when available chlorine was at a concentration of about 620 microns. The addition of ethylene to EAW led to ethylene decomposition, and an equimolar amount of ethylene chlorohydrine with available chlorine was produced. The ethylene chlorohydrine production was greatly affected by the pH value (pH 2.5, 5.0 and 10.0 were tested), and was faster in an acidic solution. Ethylene chlorohydrine was not produced after ethylene had been added to EAW at pH 2.6 when available chlorine was absent, but was produced after potassium hypochlorite had been added to such EAW. The effect of the pH value of EAW on the vase life of cut carnations was compatible with the decomposition rate of ethylene in EAW of the same pH value. These results suggest that the effect of EAW on the vase life of cut carnations was due to the decomposition of ethylene to ethylene chlorohydrine by chlorine from chlorine compounds.