HomeWhy Ozone – Benefits of Ozone

Why Ozone – Benefits of Ozone

Why ozone?

There are multiple benefits of Ozone over any other disinfectant and oxidant. Oxygen is a chemical element with the symbol ‘O’ and atomic number 8. It has two allotropes, dioxygen (O2 molecule) and trioxygen (Ozone, O3, see Box 1)).  Dioxygen, which is the third most abundant gas in Earth’s atmosphere, has several chemical & physiological functions. It is a strong oxidant, can convert many other elements into corresponding oxides, and sustains different life forms including humans by binding to Fe in haemoglobin and getting transported to various body parts for cellular respiration and energy generation.

On the other hand, its triatomic cousin, Ozone, is highly reactive, more powerful oxidant and disinfectant. It (O3) is constantly in search of partner molecules to whom it can transfer one of the three oxygen atoms and revert to stabler O2. It strongly absorbs ultraviolet UV-B radiation, and the high-altitude ozone layer helps protect the biosphere from adverse impacts of exposure to ultraviolet radiation. Ozone in Earth’s atmosphere is regarded as a pollutant, one of the six pollutants monitored in ambient air quality.

Dioxygen vs Trioxygen - Oxygen vs Ozone

Putting a pollutant to work

Putting ozone, a common air pollutant, to destroy water borne pathogens, viruses (disinfection) and other chemical pollutants (oxidation) is very exciting. This field has emerged as an attractive research area and opened significant industrial & business opportunities in several sectors.

Disinfection of water using ozone is advantageous compared to more traditional methods, such as chlorine or UV disinfection.

  • Firstly, ozone is more effective at killing/deactivating viruses and bacteria than any other disinfection treatment. It is 3000 times more powerful disinfectant than chlorine.
  • It disinfects, oxidizes, deodorizes, and decolorizes simultaneously. Not many disinfectants combine these attributes for simultaneous treatment.
  • Ozone requires lesser contact time, thus reducing the overall treatment residence time. Its half life in water is 15 min at pH 7 and 25 °C in contrast to 3 days in air at 20 °C.
  • Ozone leaves no chemical residues/solids post-reaction as it decomposes into O2
  • Ozone can be produced on site. Requires no shipping or handling and associated complications like safety and environmental issues are eliminated.

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Other benefits of ozone over other disinfectants/oxidants are as in the following:

Raw material

Ozone is obtained from abundant and cheap raw material (Air)

Half-life & Water Solubility

Much shorter half-life (15 min) in water compared to chlorine (upto 5 hours). There is greater risk of occupational exposure if chlorine is used. Use of ozone doesn’t cause such undesirable exposure

Powerful disinfectant
  • Ozone is a powerful sterilizer and microbial remover, requires 6-10 times lower doses compared to chlorine to achieve 4-log viral inactivation.
  • Giardia cysts (protozoa) is found in human stools that often contaminate water bodies. Its deactivation is deemed most difficult and passes unaffected through most disinfection technologies. However, using O3, a 3-log deactivation is attained at a dose 75 -100 times lower than that of Cl2.
  • Unlike Cl2, maintaining a residual concentration of ozone in water is very difficult due to its shorter half-life. For this reason, though O3 is a stronger disinfectant, it is often not deemed as a suitable disinfectant!
  • Ozone doesn’t generate trihalomethane (THM). THMs which form during Cl2-based disinfection are toxic and cancer causing compounds.
  • No disinfection by-products (DBP) generation (except for bromates if bromide is present in water). In fact, O3 can remove precursors for formation of disinfection by-products.
Bio-oxidation enhancer
  • Oxidizes recalcitrant organics and improves biodegradability of wastewater (increases BOD/COD ratio).
  • Improves DO level in wastewater.
  • Helps in healthy growth of bacteria (MLSS).
  • Increases the settling efficiency of MLSS.
  • Generates lesser amount/volume of biological sludge.
Food Preserver

With its unique disinfection attributes, ozone protects food grains from infestation and moulds and fungi.

No Safety Hazard

It quickly decomposes into O2, hence no serious problem in case of over dosage.

CAPEX/O&M
  • Somewhat higher initial costs.
  • But lower O&M costs and environmental & health benefits accrued can very well compensate higher CAPEX.
Environmental Impact
  • 13 kg CO2e/kg O3 produced @ 22 kWh/kg O3 per hr @ 0.233 kg CO2e per kWh energy consumed (includes power consumption by air compressor, refrigeration/chiller, plasma/corona generation, ozone destruction) versus 29.82 kg CO2e/kg @128 kWh/kg Cl2 @0.233 kg CO2e per kWh energy consumed (includes power consumed for brine purification, utilities, Cl2 compression/liquefaction). Thus, the GHG emissions are 5-6 times less during O3 production compared to Cl2 production on large scale.
  • Unlike Cl2 which is banned for some applications due to reverse environmental impact, ozone is free from such impact.

Based on the above benefits of ozone, extensive applications of ozone in wastewater treatment, potable water disinfection, air cleaning, and food preservation have been developed by ORAIPL.

These are some of the main benefits of Ozone for treating and polishing water:

As you can see Ozone has several advantages over any other other option in disinfecting, polishing and improving the quality of treated water. Ozone is being used to treat Municipal Drinking Water, Industrial Effluents, Grey Water, Black Water, Sewage Treatment, Lake Remediation, Soil Remediation, Air Purification, and many more applications.

With the advancements in Ozone Generator manufacturing technology, it is now much easier to produce and use Ozone on-site for water, gas and soil treatment.

ORAIPL is the global leader in the manufacture of Ozone generators, right from small 5 g/h capacity, to very large 80 kg/h capacity.

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