Ozone Oxidation: How Does It Work And What Are The Advantages And Disadvantages
Ozone is often used for the disinfecting effect, but what is it and how does it work..in this blog we will discuss the purification technique ozone oxidation. We will go into the the following topics;
- What is ozone oxidation?
- How is ozone produced?
- How does ozone oxidation work?
- What are the benefits of ozone oxidation?
- What are the disadvantages of ozone oxidation?
- What can be removed (oxidized)with ozone oxidation?
- Ozone and quality standards
USE OUR PURIFICATION TECHNIQUES SELECTION TOOL TO LEARN MORE ABOUT VARIOUS TECHNIQUES, CLICK HERE
What is ozone oxidation?
To understand what ozone oxidation is, it is important to first know what ozone is. Ozone is a singular substance of the element oxygen, with gross formula O3. At room temperature and normal pressure, ozone is a gas and is colorless to light blue. Ozone has an unpleasant odor and is irritating. Unlike normal oxygen (O2), Ozone is a strong oxidizer.
The next point to understand is what oxidation is. Oxidation is a chemical process substance (reduction) releases electrons to another substance (oxidizer), the oxidation number of the reducer increases. Ozone decays in water, OH radicals react. These radicals are very short-lived compounds that can oxidize even more strongly than the ozone itself.
How is ozone produced?
Ozone is a gas that comes from air, more often dry air because gives better returns. By using high electrical voltage (Corona discharge), oxygen (O₂) from the air is converted into ozone (O₃).
How does ozone oxidation work?
As above, the effect of ozone oxidation is known, so it is not really removal because components are not removed out of the process. The oxidation can be done via reaction with ozone or via indirect reactions with OH Radicals. The components in fresh water are oxidized. In the case of micro-genes the cell walls and the genetic material from the cells will be oxidized.
What are the benefits of ozone oxidation?
- Widely applicable for oxidation of various components.
- Oxidized substances are easier to remove via other purification techniques.
- No transport needed, is produced on location
What are the disadvantages of ozone oxidation?
- No deletion, it is oxidized and not removed.
- Short disinfectant operation
- Safety, Ozone reacts with bromide to bromate (carcinogenic substance)
- Solid particles may adversely affect the operation of ozone
- Safety, strong Oxidizing agents are dangerous and harmful to health
What can you "remove" via ozone oxidation?
Ozone is often used for the disinfecting effect (against pathogenic organisms, pathogens, bacteria, viruses and endospore), but also for components such as unwanted color, odor, and flavors (organic components). Also organic micro-contaminants, such as pesticides and medicines can be oxidized by ozone. The oxidized substances are often less soluble in water so that they remove better with other purification techniques. Ozone is often applied in potable water production, swimming pool water and cooling water purification, control from odor and disinfecting waste water.
Ozone and quality standards
- NPR-CEN/TR 14740:2004 en - Chemicals used for treatment of water intended for human consumption - Ozone-Production - Guidelines for installations and minimal functional requirements
- ASTM D7677 - 16en - Standard Test Method for the Continuous Measurement of Dissolved Ozone in Low Conductivity Water
- NEN-EN 1278:2010 en - Chemicals used for treatment of water intended for human consumption - Ozone
- NEN-EN 15074:2014 en - Chemicals used for treatment of swimming pool water - Ozone
In this blog we discussed the basics of ozone oxidation. We have discussed the following points for ozone oxidation, what is ozone oxidation, how does ozone oxidation work, what are the advantages and disadvantages of ozone oxidation and what can one actually do remove with ozone oxidation. Also read our other and future blogs about various purification techniques.
