Ozone
Ozone (O3) is a pale blue gas. It is made up of three oxygen atoms, but it is very different than the oxygen we breathe, which only has two oxygen atoms. That one atom is the difference between a healthy gas (oxygen) that our bodies need and a toxic gas (ozone) that is highly reactive and unstable. At –112 °C, it condenses to form a dark blue liquid. It is dangerous to allow this liquid to warm to its boiling point, because both concentrated gaseous ozone and liquid ozone can detonate. At temperatures below –193 °C, it forms a violet-black solid.
Ground-level ozone is a major component of smog. Stratospheric ozone, on the other hand, comprises the ozone layer, which protects us from the dangerous ultraviolet light from the sun. The two should not be confused. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency distinguishes between the two layers of ozone with the phrase “good up high, bad nearby.”
Ozone is produced by ultraviolet light from the sun hitting the earth's atmosphere lightning, certain electric devices (such as air ionizers), and as a byproduct of other types of pollution.
Outdoor air used for ventilation may have sufficient ozone to react with common indoor pollutants as well as skin oils and other common indoor air chemicals or surfaces.
Many industries utilize ozone indoors. In such cases, ozone monitoring is crucial. Exposure of 0.1 to 1 µ mol/mol produces headaches, burning eyes, and irritation to the respiratory passages. Even low concentrations of ozone in air are very destructive to organic materials such as latex, plastics, and animal lung tissue.
Specifications
| Gas | Ozone | Gas Density | 1.66 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chemical Symbol | O3 | Detection Principle | Electrochemical |
| PEL (ppm) | 0.1 | LEL (%) | |
| IDHL (ppm) | 5 | UEL (%) | |
| Industries | Water & Waste Water Treatment, Ozone Generators | description | |
| applications |
Products
- Custom solutions are available for Ozone.
Contact CONSPEC for a custom Ozone solution.
Industrial Applications
Pharmaceuticals
The largest use of ozone is in the preparation of pharmaceuticals, synthetic lubricants, and other such organic compounds, in which it is used to sever carbon-carbon bonds. Ozone is a reagent in many organic reactions in the laboratory and in industry. Ozonolysis is the cleavage of an alkene to carbonyl compounds.
Water Treatment Plants
Many municipal drinking water systems use ozone instead of chlorine to kill bacteria. Unlike chlorine, yet does remain in the water or leave any taste or odor. Where electrical power is abundant, ozone is a cost-effective water treatment method, since it can be produced on demand and does not need to be transported. Ozone will also chemically attack contaminants such as iron, arsenic, hydrogen sulfide, nitrites, and water-borne microorganisms, such as giardia lamblia and cryptosporidium.
Healthcare Facilities
Ozone is used as a disinfectant in hospital laundry facilities, nursing homes, and other places where infectious diseases are a concern. Many hospitals use large ozone generators to decontaminate operating rooms between surgeries.
Food Packaging Plants
Ozone is used to bacteria on food or on contact surfaces; to scrub yeast and mold spores from the air; to wash fresh fruits and vegetables; and to kill yeast, mold and bacteria in food processing or packaging plants.
Property Restoration
Ozone can be used effectively to deodorize objects and air after a fire or flood and is used extensively in fabric restoration.
Agriculture
Ozone application on freshly cut pineapple and banana shows increase in flavonoids and total phenol contents. Tomatoes treated with ozone show an increase in β-carotene, lutein and lycopene. Ozone will also kill insects in grain storage areas such as silos.
Paper Mills
Ozone is used as an alternative to chlorine or chlorine dioxide in the bleaching of wood pulp. It is often used in conjunction with oxygen and hydrogen peroxide to eliminate the need for chlorine- containing compounds in the manufacture of high-quality, white paper.
Aquaculture
Ozone can facilitate organic breakdown. If nitrite levels in the water are high, nitrites will accumulate in the blood and tissues of fish, where it interferes with oxygen transport. Ozone added to recirculating systems can reduce nitrite levels by converting it into nitrate. Ozonated sea water is used for surface disinfection of haddock and Atlantic halibut eggs against nodavirus, a lethal and vertically transmitted virus, which causes severe mortality in fish.
Soil Remediation
Ozone facilitates the extraction of some heavy metals from soil using EDTA. EDTA forms strong, water-soluble corrodination compounds with some heavy metals (Pb, Zn), thereby enabling them to dissolve out from contaminated soil. Ozone can be used to detoxify cyanide wastes (for example from gold and silver mining) by oxidizing cyanide to cyanate and eventually to carbon dioxide.