A pilot scale sodium hypochlorite (NaClO) continuous generator is described in this paper, which was used for anti-microbial applications, basically for cleaning-in-place (CIP) or sterilizing-in-place (SIP), in food industry. The electrolytic cell was constructed as a tubular electrochemical reactor with a nylon net membrane between the electrodes and with a layer of rare-earth metallic oxide, RuO2, as catalytic coating on the titanium-anode surface. The performance of this sodium hypochlorite continuous generator was analyzed from a reaction engineering view point. The electric current efficiency was above 82% and the consumption of sodium chlorine was 2.7 kg for producing 1 kg of available chlorine (Cl-2). The sterilizing water production rate ranged from 810 to 1080 1 per hour with an available chlorine concentration of 200-150 ppm. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.