ABOUT OZONE

Ozone - General Information Ozone is a naturally occurring component of fresh air. The ultra-violet rays of the sun reacting with the Earth's upper atmosphere, which creates a protective ozone layer, can produce it; or it can be created artificially with an ozone generator. The ozone molecule contains three oxygen atoms whereas the oxygen molecule contains only two. Ozone is a very reactive and unstable gas with a short half-life before it reverts back to oxygen. Ozone is the most powerful and rapid acting oxidizer produced, and will oxidize all bacteria, endotoxins, mold and yeast spores, organic material and viruses.

A Brief History of OzoneOzone has played a significant role in the water treatment process in the past and will continue to do so in the future. The utilization of ozone in industrial situations has a long and impressive history, one that pre-dates current environmental concerns. The American Indians, for whom fishing was a central industry, recognized a correlation between a successful catch and a strange odor released by the action of lightning after an electric storm. On the other side of the globe the Greeks had also noticed the odor (and so defined it "ozein") and like the Indians, preferred fishing after a storm, which is still practiced today. The explanation for this natural phenomenon is that after an electric storm the upper layer of water in lakes is enriched with diluted oxygen and therefore naturally ozonated. The positive influence of ozone on the digestive system of different species of fish has been scientifically documented. The closed loop for fish farming is only possible with ozone because of its ability to destroy viruses responsible for many diseases in fish culture. The most common use of ozone is for the treatment of water. In 1906 a group of scientists and doctors studied the ozonation system at the Oudshoorn plant in Holland and later constructed a 19,000 m3/day (5 mgd) plant using ozonation for disinfection - at Nice, France. Nice is therefore referred to as "the birthplace of ozonation for drinking water treatment".

Formation of Ozone The conversion of oxygen into ozone occurs with the use of energy. This process is carried out by an electric discharge field as in the corona discharge (CD) type ozone generators (simulation of lightning), or by ultraviolet radiation, as in UV-type ozone generators (simulation of ultra-violet rays from the sun). In addition to these commercial methods, ozone may also be made through electrolytic and chemical reactions.


Ozone and Its Applications in DisinfectionOzone is not only a very powerful oxidizing agent but also a very powerful non-chemical disinfectant. It has the unique feature of decomposing to a harmless, nontoxic, environmentally safe material, oxygen. In Europe, ozone is used for many purposes: color removal, taste and odor removal, turbidity reduction, organics removal, microflocculation, iron and manganese oxidation, and most commonly, bacterial disinfection and viral inactivation. Most of these applications are based on ozone's high oxidizing power. In European water treatment practices, ozonation is recognized as the preferred method of virus inactivation rather than just an alternative to the use of chlorine for disinfection.

posted by FY SONS INCORPORATED @ 1:31 PM