The Ozmotics Insider

Clean in place (CIP) is a method for cleaning the interior of pipes and other inacessible spaces where regular cleaning methods fail to produce adequate results. The main benefit of the CIP process is that it requires no disassembly of the infrastructure while still being able to provide the sanitation level as required by the applicable standards and regulations.

Benefits of Ozonation in Industrial Cleaning Applications

The typical Clean in Place process consists of injecting water, heat and a combination of chemicals to clean the inacessable surface areas such as pipes, valves, pumps, etc., all of which are difficult to clean with conventional methods.

Most of CIP processes involve the application of heat as well as multiple water flushings with or without the use of chemical agents to aid in cleaning process. The CIP process although simpler than manually disassembling the infrastructure, still requires considerable use of energy and resources. CIP also requires considerable production down-time in order to elevate the temperature of the surfaces to be cleaned and then cool down back to the original working temperature (source: International Ozone Association, Clean in Place publication http://www.Io3a.org).

Unlike conventional methods used for the CIP process, the use of ozone for the CIP process requires no elevation in the surface temperature of the equipment to be cleaned (pipes, pumps, valves, etc.) as ozone is most effective at lower temperatures. As such the warm-up and cool-down times typically associated with the conventional CIP processes and techniques are greatly reduced.

The second benefit of using ozone in industrial cleaning applications is the fact that ozone is effective for the remediation of both biological as well as non-biological contamination. Ozone is a well-known and proven oxidizing agent that will destroy even the hardiest microbiological organisms as well as can oxidize the majority of organic components.

In addition to its universal application, ozone wil leave no residue or chemical traces after the cleaning process is completed therefore making it a safe medium for the remediation and decontamination of the CIP surfaces used in the food industry (i.e. wineries, breweries, food processing etc.). Because of its short half-life cycle and its tendency to quickly revert to oxygen, ozone will typically leave the clean surface free of trace contamination therefore requiring less rinsing compared to other CIP processes.

Effectiveness of Ozone in the Inactivation of Microbiological Organisms

Ozone is very effective in inactivating the majority of biological micro organisms that it comes in contact with. It would appear that ozone will rupture the inner cell membrane of the microbiological organism it reacts with therefore destroying or incapacitating the affected organism. For viruses and other multi-cell micro organisms (that are less affected by the inner membrane rupture) ozone is still an effective destruct medium. Ozone will diffuse through the protein coat into the nucleic acid core, resulting in damaging the viral RNA or oxidizing the outer shell of the viral organism therefore affecting the DNA and RNA structure of the viral organism (source: Ozone Inactivation of Microorganisms: Kinetics and Mechanisms, Ahmed Yousef, Professor of Food Microbiology Ohio State University, Ozone-V Conference April 2, 2007,Fresno California).

Effectiveness of Ozone in Oxidizing Organic Compound Contaminants

Ozone is a strong oxidant with the oxidation potential exceeding that of chlorine and other strong oxidants. As such, ozone will react with most of the complex organic compounds reducing them to simpler elemental compounds that are easy to flush out of the infrastructure being sanitized.

For example, most of BTEX compounds will be oxidized to carbon dioxide (CO2) and water (H2O) both being safe to release into the environment and neither being considered as a dangerous contaminant byproduct in the CIP process. As such, ozone is a choice reactant for in-situ treatment and remediation of the areas affected by the BTEX (in situ ozone sparging: http://www.ozmoticsinsider.com/2008/10/ozone-for-soil-and-ground-water-remediation-in-situ-ozone-sparging/ ).

In addition to soil and ground water remediation for BTEX contamination, ozone can be effectively used to decontaminate and remediate the inner surfaces of equipment and infrastructure (i.e. cleaning of the petroleum storage tanks, pipes, pumps,etc.).

Besides hydrocarbon derivatives, ozone can be used to aid in the CIP procedure for most of the organic compound contaminated infrastructure elements. And since most of the residual and unused ozone will revert back to oxygen during or shortly after the treatment has finished, ozone can be used both as a stand alone CIP agent or it can be used in combination with other chemicals or treatment procedures (such as a pre-wash).

Ozone for Clean in Place Applications – Conclusion

Ozone is very effective for Clean in Place and other industrial infrastructure and equipment decontamination and remediation procedures. The energy and water savings achieved by introducing ozone as an active cleaning agent for the CIP procedure, are well documented. And since ozone generation technology can easily be scaled to fit any application (ozone is generated on-site from ambient air so the only requirement for using the ozone generator on site is the availability of electrical power), ozonation technology for the CIP application can be made quite portable.

If you are interested in learning more about the integration of ozone for Cleaning in Place (CIP) applications or need help sizing a unit please contact an Ozmotics representative at 1-877-386-3763.

There have recently been multiple published incidents where contaminated food products have found their way into the market place and ultimately onto the consumer’s table. When this happens, typically the remedial action is to do a mass recall of any products that are even remotely suspected of being contaminated.

But the damage that happens when a product is recalled is far greater and significant than the direct financial loss the business suffers from mass- recalling and destroying large quantities of their product that is already on the store shelves and ready to be sold.

For example costs resulting for lawsuits launched by the consumers affected by the recalled product (i.e. getting sick from eating tainted food or drinking the contaminated water) can be significant. The bad publicity it brings and the loss of trust in the brand or the manufacturer of the tainted product can present even more significant liability than the monetary loss incurred due to the cost of recalling the tainted product.

Benefits of Ozone in Preventing Food Product Contamination

Ozone is well known for its ability to quickly and effectively kill the majority of microbiological organisms including some that are resistant to chlorine. Moreover, unlike chlorine, ozone leaves no dangerous trace by-products and therefore can be used not only for sanitizing the work surfaces that come into contact with the processed food but can also be used to sanitize the food directly. This can be accomplished by spraying fruits and vegetables with ozonated water thereby sanitizing the food and destroying any organic contaminants that may be present. Also, ozonating the processed meat and meat products will ensure that those products are free of any traces of bacteria or other microbiological contaminants.

Ozone can also be injected inside cold rooms and other storage compartments that house perishable foods. And unlike chlorine and other chemicals that leave the residue even after the sanitization process has been completed, ozone will leave the food residue-free when the food is ready to be packaged, consumed or further processed.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the use of ozone as both a direct and indirect antimicrobial agent for the treatment, storage and processing of foods. – Source: Ozone Cip: Ozone Cleaning in Place in Food Industries, Albert Canut, Andrés Pascual, IOA Conference and Exhibition Valencia, Spain – October 29 – 31, 2007.

Use of Ozone for “Clean in Place” ( CIP ) and Work Surface Sanitization

In addition to keeping the food source clean and free of microbiological contamination, ozone is also effective in decontaminating and sanitizing equipment and common processing areas (benches, tables, floors, racks, processing equipment, etc.).

Published research even suggests the ozone to be more effective than chlorine in sterilizing certain microbiological growth on stainless steel (SS) surfaces (Source: A Comparison of Ozonation and Chlorination for the Disinfection of Stainless Steel Surface, ANNEL K. GREENE, BRIAN K. FEW, and JOAO C. SERAFINI, Department of Animal, Dairy and Veterinary Sciences, Clernson University
- Clemson, SC 29634.)

The above study using the bacterial growth on the milk culture on the stainless steel plate medium found ozone to be equivalent to a 4.6 log reduction for chlorinated sanitizer and a 5.6 log reduction for ozone for P. fluorescens and equivalent to a 4.2 log reduction for chlorinated sanitizer and a 4.4 log reduction for ozone for A. faecalis. While both chlorine and ozone were able to achieve bacterial inactivation significantly above 99% percentile, ozone was found to be slightly more effective for sanitizing stainless steel surfaces in the food processing industry.

Other Benefits of Ozone in the Food Industry

The other major benefit of ozone is that it can be effectively combined with other food sanitation procedures without any adverse reaction or need to change or modify the already established procedures used to sanitize food or perform other CIP procedures on surfaces  that come in contact with the food source.

Ozonation can be used in conjunction with a hot water wash of work surfaces as well as prior to the application of chlorine or other chemicals used to sanitize work surfaces. Ozone technology is very portable and does not require more than the initial investment to purchase the equipment (ozone is generated on site using ambient air so there are no storage or shipping costs or considerations). The technology is very scalable making it available to even the smallest food processing facilities and since the storage requirements for ozone has been eliminated.

Ozone Use in The Food Industry – Conclusion.

The benefits of introducing ozone as a means of keeping the processed and packaged food free of  microbiological contamination, are well documented. Ozone has been approved by the FDA for both indirect and direct contact with handled food. Ozonation is an inexpensive, portable and very effective technology that can be used as a stand-alone method for preventing food source contamination and it may be used in conjunction with the other cleaning and sterilization processes and as well.

As such the use of ozonation technology in the food processing, packaging or any other application where food could be exposed to the contaminant, is strongly recommended.

If you have an application that requires the use of ozone and need help sizing a unit please contact an Ozmotics representative at 1-877-386-3763.

The importance of maintaining a sterile and clean environment in the wine industry is immense. Cross contamination between batches of wine is a major concern and so is the management of the active yeast.

The yeast is a major ingredient in the fermentation process and without it the fermentation process would not occur. However, the Brettanomyces (a non-spore forming genus of yeast in the family Saccharomycetaceae) can contaminate the finished wine product and give it an undesired off-flavor.

While the Brettanomyces is a desired ingredient to some wines and according to some wine makers that rely on Brettanomyces to give their distinctive character (i.e. Château Musar), most wine producers see the Brettanomyces as a wine spoiler (source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brettanomyces)

Benefits of Ozone in the Wine Making Process

It is well known fact that the best recognized wine brands often obtain their finishing palate and bouquet (distinctive trademark flavor and smell) by being stored in oak barrels as part of the aging process. To retain such distinctive flavor, it is important that those barrels be kept free of contaminants that can spoil the wine.

Use of chlorine to sanitize oak barrels is not recommended since the oak barrels will absorb the chlorine during the washing process and release it during the wine storing process therefore running the risk to spoil the batch pf wine being stored in the chlorine contaminated barrel.

Ozone is well known as being as effective as chlorine in oxidizing organic matter as well as killing any microbiological growth. However unlike chlorine, it will not leach into the oak barrels and will revert quickly back to its more stable oxygen form shortly after treatment. As such the use of ozone for washing the barrels between the batches is well preferred over the use of chlorine.

Ozone is also effective in killing the active yeast growth (Brettanomyces ) so the proper ozonation of wine barrels and other surfaces that may come in touch with the wine during the fermentation and/or storage of the wine, will help greatly reduce the development of the off-taste and spoilage of the wine.

Portability of the Ozone Equipment

The second large benefit of using ozone in the wine making industry is the portability of the ozone making equipment and technology. Ozone is typically generated on-site using ambient air and the entire ozonation skid can be made to be portable therefore allowing it to be moved from place to place without the need to disassemble or reassemble the equipment.

This portability means that even the smallest winery can easily acquire the necessary ozonation equipment and use it to aid in maintaining the proper sanitation levels of the wine making and storing equipment and facilities.

On-site Cleaning

While barrel and fermentation tank sanitation are a lesser problem because of the ready access and area to spray wash the surface, the cleaning of pipes and other infrastructure used to transfer the wine between the many vessels used within the different stages of the wine making process, is a far more delicate and complex operation. As such it is not a wonder that many wineries report the contamination to happen exactly at this stage (inside piping and other small chamber areas where proper washing and sanitation is hard to accomplish). Use of ozone for the on-site cleaning and sanitation of areas has proven more effective than any other method and the related contamination and undesired microbiological growth has been effectively eliminated.

Cleaning in place involves injecting the ozonated water inside the pipes and other small vessels typically difficult to decontaminate in any other conventional way. The ozonated water will clean and effectively decontaminate the inside of the equipment therefore preventing the cross contamination of the new batch of wine.

Sanitizing the wine making, transportation and storage equipment with about 2.5 ppm of ozone for approximately 2 to 5 minutes after the hot water wash has been applied, is a recommended practice for sanitizing (source: International Ozone Application – “Ozone in Wine Industry” publication , http://www.io3a.org).

General Area Cleaning and Sanitation

Ozone is also effective at general area cleaning and sanitation as well.

For example ozone can be used to clean common areas such as passages, catwalks and other areas used to gain access to wine making and storage equipment areas.

Using ozone to decontaminate such areas is also a very good practice and the same equipment that is used to wash the wine barrels, pipes and inside of the fermentation tanks can be used with minimal or no modification to wash and sanitize the general areas and infrastructure.

Conclusion

The benefits of using ozone in the wine making process are many. From the accessibility of the technology and portability of the ozone generating equipment to the ability to use ozone in many other processes and areas within the winery, ozone has proven to be a wine maker’s best friend.

If you require additional information about the ozone technology, engineering and design of the turn-key ozone injection skid or if you need help sizing a unit please contact your Ozmotics representative at 1-877-386-3763.

Many configurations had been developed and tried and there may be further variations in the design of a turn-key ozone injection skid but in general the principle is fairly similar. Here we will attempt to outline the major components of the system.

Ozone injection skid – The process explained:

Click To Enlarge

Step 1 – The Air Dryer

Example of an "air compressor"

Using the corona discharge ozone generator and the oxygen concentrator (oxygen fed  ozone generator), the ozone injection skid typically follows the line process by which the ambient air is first circulated through the air dryer (the ambient air must be sufficiently dry and free of moisture in order to be used as a feed for the oxygen concentrator).

Step 2 – The Oxygen Concentrator

Example of an "oxygen concentrator"

The Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA) oxygen concentrator is commonly used to generate the high concentration oxygen feed that is required for the production of the ozone. To learn more about the pressure swing adsorption principle and understand how the PSA concentrator is used to efficiently and economically purify and concentrate the oxygen from the ambient air we invite you to read this article:

http://www.ozmoticsinsider.com/2008/10/pressure-swing-adsorption-psa-%e2%80%93-the-typical-layout-of-the-psa-oxygen-concentrator/

It is recommended to plan for the future and always install the larger oxygen concentrator unit than the immediate demand of the ozone generator equipment. While with some insightful planning and design (building a modular rack that can hold multiple ozone generator units) one can make the system expandable for the future growth and demand if the oxygen concentrator cannot produce enough oxygen gas feed as required by the expanded system, the entire concentrator will need to be replaced. Therefore it is always better to plan for a larger oxygen concentrator unit than what the immediate ozone generator input requirement directs.

Step 3- The Ozone Generator

Example of an "Ozmotics Ozone Generator"

The corona discharge generator is typically recommended for higher capacity ozone production since it can produce more ozone at a higher concentration compared to UV ozone generators. The corona discharge ozone generator is also typically smaller and more compact therefore more practical to use in the engineering design of an ozone injection skid.

The modular design is highly recommended for the planning and integration of the ozone generator meaning that multiple smaller capacity ozone generator units are preferred over a single larger capacity ozone generator unit.

By installing high quality ozone generators in multiple unit configurations, even if the single ozone generator cell is to fail, the other cells will still continue generating the ozone therefore allowing for the uninterrupted and continued ozonation operation.

Step 4 – Static Mixer and Venturi Injector

The efficiency of ozone to react with the water or other intended substance is strongly correlated with the contact area between the ozone and the substance you’re treating.

Example of an "air stone"

For aqueous ozone injecting applications (injecting the ozone in water or other liquid solutions), two methods are commonly used. The first method using an air stone diffuser will generate larger ozone gas bubbles therefore decreasing the available contact area of ozone to water. As such an air diffuser is not recommended in the design of the ozone injection system.

Example of a "Venturi Injector"

The Venturi injector is capable of diffusing the ozone gas as a much smaller bubbles therefore cumulatively increasing the contact area of ozone to the water or other liquid medium where ozone is to be injected. As such more ozone is used in the process and less residual ozone ends up escaping the system therefore lowering the production demand as well as the size of the ozone destruct equipment (used to destroy any escaped ozone from the contact chamber).

Step 5 – Contact tank

Example of a "contact tank"

The ozone is typically mixed with water in a higher concentration than required (concentrated mix) and let to dissolve inside a contact tank. The contact tank will usually be designed with the obstacles (baffle) to allow the water to flow longer inside the tank before it exits and therefore allowing higher concentration of ozone to be dissolved in the water or other liquid used as the solvent.

Step 6 – Ozone destruct unit

Example of an "ozone destruct unit"

Ozone destruct unit is used to destroy any unused ozone escaping from the contact tank. The destruct unit is usually a chamber in which a catalyst is packed (a catalyst will help break out ozone back into the oxygen before it is vacated to the outside of the contact tank. To ensure that no moisture enters the catalyst chamber, a water trap is typically installed in between the contact tank and the ozone destruct unit (to trap and collect any moisture escaping from the contact tank.

Step 7 – Ozone mixing chamber

Example of a "mixing chamber"

The ozone mixing chamber is typically an external tank where the untreated water is mixed with the water from the smaller contact tank (where the higher than required concentration of ozone is dissolved to create a concentrated mix of water and ozone).

By mixing the high concentration of the dissolved ozone from the contact tank with the untreated water the diluted equilibrium of the desired ozone concentration is achieved in the entire body of the water (or other liquid to be ozonated). By increasing or decreasing the flow of water from the contact tank, the concentration of the ozone in the mixing chamber can be achieved.

Step 8 – Ozone Injection Skid Architecture Design (Conclusion)

Example of a "sidestream injection"

This two step approach (ozonating only the part of the entire flow to a higher concentration and than mixing the high concentration of the ozonated liquid with the main body of the liquid to be treated), is far more economical than utilizing the single step inline ozonation where the entire body of the water (or other liquid to be ozonated) is ozonated. By requiring to ozonate only a portion of the flow to be treated, the size and capacity of the infrastructure (pumps needed to maintain the flow and pressure, injectors, pipes carrying liquid, etc.) is greatly reduced while still being able to treat the entire flow in general. The savings in the material are complimented by the savings in the real estate needed to install the ozone injection equipment (much smaller skids comparing to the similar capacity inline ozone injection skids).

The description offered in this article is a simplified description of the principle used to inject the ozone into the water or other liquids to be treated. The complete turn-key ozone injection skid has many more components than what has been explained in this article. Pumps, dissolved ozone monitoring probes, ORP meter, safety monitoring probes (to detect any accidental leak of ozone out of the skid, etc. can be further found inside the engineered turn-key ozone injection skid.

If you require additional information on the engineering and design of the turn-key ozone injection skid or need help sizing a unit please contact your Ozmotics representative at 1-877-386-3763.

BTEX is a common acronym used to describe benzene, toluene ethyl benzene, and xylenes. BTEX compounds are some of the most commonly VOC (volatile organic compounds) found in petroleum derivatives such as gasoline and are often found as a persistent contaminants in the areas prone to gasoline and gasoline derivative spills (old gas stations, gasoline storage yards, refineries, etc.).

The inherent danger of BTEX is that toluene, ethyl benzene, and xylenes are very toxic substances with the documented history of harmful effects on the central nervous system. Because of the solubility of the majority of the BTEX components they are also prone to leaching into the underground waterways therefore polluting much wider area than the original contamination site. As such the decontamination of soils and ground water contaminated with the BTEX traces is strongly recommended.

Ozone is well known oxidizer able to decompose most of the complex organic substances to the less harmful basic elements from which the complex substance is derived. In case of the BTEX, this is the hydrogen and carbon. Through further reaction the hydrogen is used to create water and the carbon is either left in its pure state or further synthesized in carbon dioxide.

In-Situ soil and ground water remediation – Ozone Sparging.

In-situ ozonation of the BTEX contaminated soil and ground water has shown promising results in removing BTEX without the need to remove the contaminated soil for off-site remediation. Also referred to as “ozone sparging” the technology involves injecting the ozone deep inside the contaminated ground where it comes into the contact with the BTEX contaminants therefore starting the process of the decomposition.

In documented research studies and reviews of the data from projects where the ozone sparging has been successfully used for the soil and water remediation, the contamination of BTEX in the soil and surrounding ground water has been successfully reduced by as much as 90% within the first five weeks of the treatment and as much as 98% + reduced by the week seven or eight of the treatment.

Ozone for soil and ground water remediation – Conclusion.

Because the soil does not have to be removed or decontaminated off-site and because the ozone leaves virtually no byproduct traces (unlike chemical treatment), the in-situ ozone sparging is both an economical (saves money) and effective solution (98% or higher contaminant removal rate) for soil and ground water remediation of sites contaminated with the BTEX and other petroleum derivatives).

Therefore the in-situ ozone sparging is highly recommended in treatment of the BTEX and petrol derivative contaminated soil and ground water.

If you have an application that requires an ozone generator and need help sizing a unit please contact your Ozmotics representative at 1-877-386-3763.