Enter the world of your very own encyclopedia on Ozone. We know all the basics like that this gas protects us from the harmful cosmic rays by its unique layer formation above the stratosphere, we are scared when we find that there are holes formed in the layer. FDA (USA) recognizes Ozone as Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS). In 1896, Nikola Tesla patented the first ozone generator in the United States. Ozone combined with negative ions (Bio-Oxygen) at the right concentration in air has been proven to be the strongest disinfectant in Mother Earth. Physicians advise that a measured dosage of ozone is necessary for inhaling continuously, as we drink polluted air as much as 15000 litres per day while we drink only 2 litres of water in the same time.
Ozone (O3)is an allotrope of oxygen (O2) and available in nature in gaseous form. It has three atoms of oxygen in its molecule. Because of this third oxygen it shows distinctly different properties that come to our benefit.
Ozone being a natural unstable product, Ozone produced on site automatically gets converted to natural oxygen only after its small life period without leaving any toxic by-products. Being the strongest oxidant & disinfectant gifted by Mother Nature, the magic of this natural element is that it is also the most effective deodorizer on our planet. The secret of its versatile functionalities is quite simple - its extra oxygen atom oxidizes the hydro-carbons / R-H radicals by breaking their chemical bonds in a natural process, hence nullifying their properties & destroying the bacterial cells & odour creating compounds. On the top of these, they virtually increase the oxygen percentage in closed atmosphere where oxygen level is bound to decrease for continuous respiration by the inmates. That helps bringing in better productivity and quality of work and life.
Property | Ozone | Oxygen |
---|---|---|
Molecular Formula |
O3 | O2 |
Molecular Weight |
48 | 32 |
Color | Light blue | Colorless |
Smell | Clothes after being outside on clothesline |
Odorless |
Photocopy machines | ||
Smell after lightning storms |
||
Solubility in Water (0°C) |
0.64 | 0.049 |
Density (g/l) | 2.144 | 1.429 |
Electrochemical Potential, V |
2.07 | 1.23 |
Gaseous | |
---|---|
Temp (°C) | half-life * |
-50 | 3 Months |
-35 | 18 Days |
-25 | 8 Days |
20 | 3 Days |
120 | 1.5 Hours |
250 | 1.5 Seconds |
Dissolved in Water (pH 7) | |
---|---|
Temp (°C) | half-life * |
250 | 8 minutes |
15 | 30-minutes |
20 | 30 minutes |
25 | 20 minutes |
30 | 15 minutes |
35 | 12 minutes |
* These values are based on thermal decomposition only. No wall effects, humidity, organic loading or other catalytic effects are considered.
The solubility of ozone depends on the water temperature and the ozone concentration in the gas phase: Units in mg/l or ppm.
O3 GAS | 5o C | 10o C | 15o C | 20o C |
---|---|---|---|---|
1.5% | 11.09 | 9.75 | 8.40 | 6.43 |
2% | 14.79 | 13.00 | 11.19 | 8.57 |
3% | 22.18 | 19.50 | 16.79 | 12.86 |
Past developments in ozone applicationA Dutch chemist called Van Marum was probably the first person to detect ozone gas sensorially. In the description of his experiments, he mentioned the notion of a characteristic smell around his electrifier. However, the discovery of ozone was only just mentioned by name decennia later, in a writing of Schönbein that dates back to 1840. This discovery was presented to the University of München. Schönbein had noticed the same characteristc smell during his experiments, that Van Marum had tried to identify earlier. He called this gas 'ozone', which is distracted from ozein; the Greek word for scent. Generally, the discovery of ozone is ascribed to Schönbein. Moreover, Schönbein is mentioned as the first person to research the reaction mechanisms of ozone and organic matter.After 1840, many studies on the disinfection mechanism of ozone followed. The first ozone generator was manufactured in Berlin by Von Siemens. This manufacturer also wrote a book about ozone application in water. This caused a number of pilot projects to take place, during which the disinfection mechanism of ozone was researched. The French chemist Marius Paul Otto (figure 1) received a doctorate at the French University, for his essay on ozone. He was the first person to start a specialized company for the manufacture of ozone installations: 'Compagnie des Eaux et de l’Ozone'.
The first technical-scale application of ozone took place in Oudshoorn, Netherlands, in 1893. This ozone installation was thouroughly studied by French sientists, and another unit was installed in Nice after that (in 1906). Since than, ozone was applied in Nice continuously, causing Nice to be called the 'place of birth of ozone for drinking water treatment'.
In the years prior to World War I, there was an increase in the use of ozone installations in various countries. Around 1916, 49 ozone installations were in use throughout Europe (26 of which were located in France). However, this increase faltered soon afterwards. This was consequential to research of toxic gases, which evidently lead to the development of chlorine. This disinfectant appeared to be a suitable alternative to ozone, as it did not have the shortcomings in management, such as low applicative guarantee and low yield of ozone generation. Ozone production did not reach its prior level until after World War II. In 1940, the number of ozone installations that were in use worldwide had only grown to 119. In 1977 this number, had increased to 1043 ozone installations. More than half of the installations were located in France. Around 1985, the number of applied ozone installations was estimated >2000.
Today, chlorine is still preferred over ozone for water disinfection. However, the last decennia the application of ozone applications did start to increase again. This was caused by the discovery of trihalomethanes (THM) as a harmful disinfection byproduct of chlorine disinfection, in 1973. Consequentially, scientists started looking for alternative disinfectants. Another problem was an increase in disturbing, difficultly removable organic micropollutants in surface waters. These compounds appeared to be oxidized by ozone faster than by chlorine and chlorine compounds. Furthermore, ozone turned out to deactivate even those microorganisms that develop resistance to disinfectants, such as Cryptosporidium. Finally, there has been a progress in the abolishment of shortcomings in ozone management.
Reduces airborne & surface bacteria by more than 99% (Refer to our Test Reports) 3,157 times stronger disinfectant than Chlorine 160 times more bactericidal than Sulphur Dioxide 37 times more bactericidal than formaldehyde 1.7 times more bactericidal than Hydrocyanic Acid More than 5.5 times stronger oxidant than pure oxygen