The Ozmotics Insider

Ozone is a very active form of oxygen. It is formed when the oxygen ( O2 ) molecules are broken down to oxygen atoms ( O). Oxygen atoms ( O ) in turn react with other oxygen molecules ( O2 ) to form ozone molecules (O3).

The simplified formula for the process is:

O2 + energy = 2 O1

2 O1 + 2 O2 + energy = 2 O3

Is ozone found in nature?

Ozone is indeed found in nature! In nature ozone is formed by lightning (largest source of naturally generated energy) and the oxygen in the air. In fact, ozone is considered to be mother nature’s air freshener as it’s that fresh smell that’s in the air after a thunder and lightning storm.

Ozone is also found in the upper stratosphere and is the main shield protecting the Earth from harmful UV radiation. Without ozone more UV radiation would reach the Earth’s surface causing the irreversible damage and harm to all living organisms exposed.

If ozone is that good for the environment why we don’t we breathe it rather than oxygen?

Ozone cannot be inhaled directly by humans, animals or any air breathing organism. The concentration of ozone that is found naturally in the lower atmosphere (where we live and breathe) is very small. Additionally, ozone is very unstable and it reverts quickly to oxygen by the reverse process through which ozone molecules were created. The ozone decomposition formula can be represented simplified as:

2 O3 = 3 O2

Is ozone technology a new technology?

Ozone has been used for centuries to treat drinking water. The first water treatment plant that used ozone to purify the water was built in Netherlands in 1893. Nice (France) was the first large city to use ozone to treat their drinking water. Los Angeles, California has the largest modern day water treatment facility using ozone technology to treat around 600 million gallons of water each day.

Where else is ozone used?

The applications of ozone span a variety of applications and industries.

Used as an alternative for chlorine and bromine in swimming pools, ozone is a very effective disinfectant, which even prevents the formation of chlorine and bromine byproducts.

For soil remediation, ozone has been used to clean up sites containing a variety of soil contaminants, including oil and fuel.

Ozone is an effective medium in controlling microbiological growth in cooling towers.

A major problem in cooling tower water treatment is legionella (legionnaires disease). In the prevention and control of legionella causing microbes, ozone has taken an eminent roll. The specific characteristics of the ozone disinfectant make sure it gets the job done where others fail.

Ozone injected to a cooling tower will also aid in the prevention of the formation of algae thus reducing fouling and increasing heat-transfer efficiency.

The benefits of ozone within the cooling tower applications are not only environmental in nature but are also helping reduce the cost of the operating and maintaining the cooling tower infrastructure therefore improving the overall bottom line.

Following is information about a few of the other applications and industries where introduction of the ozone is of great benefit:

- Aquaculture
- Agriculture
- Bottling
- Disinfection
- Electronics
- Farming
- Winery Sanitation
- Pharmaceutical
- Food Processing and Preservation
- Hydroponics
- Laundry
- Pools and Spas
- Hospitals
- Soil Remediation
- Wastewater Treatment

How is ozone generated?

To make the ozone in the large enough quantities and the high enough concentration to be useful for industrial and commercial processes the more efficient way of generating the ozone is required.

One of the most common and economical ways of generating large quantities of the industrial ozone supply is using a corona discharge (forcing the air through narrow gap in presence of high power energy field (corona discharge).

The process of ozone generation via the corona discharge can be described in two steps:

First, the feed air required to generate ozone must have the nitrogen and other trace elements removed since the air we breathe contains only about 21% oxygen and as much as 78% of nitrogen.

The oxygen concentrator removes nitrogen from the ambient air leaving almost pure oxygen to be feed to the ozone generator.

This process is by far more economical than using chemicals that need to be hauled from off-site and stored on-site until the time they are ready to be used. Ozone is generated on-site and on demand therefore eliminating the transportation and storage costs.

Since there is no residue (any residual ozone not used by the process will revert back to the more stable oxygen form without any additional requirement or intervention) ozone technology is very eco-friendly (creates virtually no pollution).

I need more information about using the ozone. Who I can contact?

If you require additional information about the ozone technology, 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.

In order to yield the higher volume ozone output typically required for the industrial ozone applications, your ozone generator must be designed to accept a gas feed containing a significantly higher concentration of oxygen than what is readily available om the ambient air.

Since the typical composition of ambient air is 21% oxygen and 78% nitrogen, the most economical way to increase the concentration of oxygen in ambient air is to remove the nitrogen component from it.

As a side benefit of removing the nitrogen from the ozone generator gas feed source, the nitrogen oxide and the nitric acid byproduct is also removed effectively reducing the amount of maintenance and scheduled service work typically required to remove such byproducts from inside the ozone generator corona discharge chambers.

The Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA) Process

The PSA oxygen process uses a special material called zeolite to remove the nitrogen from the ambient air. Zeolite is used as it absorbs the nitrogen when subjected to a high pressure while releasing the absorbed nitrogen when the pressure drops.

The PSA process works by feeding the ambient air into a pressurized chamber containing zeolite. The nitrogen is absorbed by the zeolite while the oxygen is further passed through to the storage tank. When the zeolite is saturated where it can no longer effectively absorb the nitrogen, the chamber is depressurized. When the chamber is in the depressurized state, the nitrogen is released by the zeolite medium and vacates the system. The chamber is than re-pressurized and the cycle is repeated over and over generating purified oxygen for the oxygen fed ozone generator or any other application requiring the high purity oxygen gas feed.

Because of this simple design principle the PSA generators require very little maintenance and as such are a favorite choice for the on-site commercial and industrial oxygen purification process (the oxygen is purified on-site versus transported from outside in bottles therefore lowering the total operating cost of the process).

PSA Oxygen Concentrators and Ozone Generators

PSA Oxygen Concentrators usually go hand-in-hand with any ozone generator application where the gas feed is oxygen and not ambient air.

The output of the PSA oxygen generator is measured in the SCFH (standard cubic feet per hour). While the overall principle remains the same for all manufacturers, different manufacturers will use different designs resulting in different footprints as well as different capacities from one manufacturer to another as well as from one model to another.

To select a proper oxygen concentrator for your ozone generator application you will need to know the requirements of your ozone generator. It is typically recommended that you size your oxygen concentrator slightly larger than the current intake requirement of your ozone generator. While ozone generators can be engineered to be expandable (modular design, simply add extra ozone generator unit to your application), expanding the production capacity of the oxygen concentrator is a much harder task to accomplish and usually requires replacing the entire oxygen concentrator assembly.

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