Water Treatment Services: Ozone

Ozone has most typically been used in large-scale treatment applications. Recently, there has been an increase in the interest and use of ozone treatment systems for homes and small businesses.

Ozone is very effective at removing organic and inorganic contaminants. It is listed as GRAS (Generally Recognized As Safe)by the US Food and Drug Administration. The California South Coast Air Quality District (one of the largest and most strict in the nation) considers ozone likely to play a significant role in the future of water treatment.

The ozone process starts by generating ozone from oxygen. The ozone is injected into the water through a venturi. The water flows into a contact chamber where the ozone has time to filter through the water. During this time, organic and inorganic compounds are oxidized. The resulting particulate are a fraction of the original material and are chemically harmless. They are removed when the water passes through a multimedia filter.

Disinfecting

Ozone kills microorganisms through cellular lysis. This process ruptures cell membranes and disperses the cytoplasm. The ozone then oxidizes the material. This process takes 2 seconds. This is over 3,000 times faster than chlorine. Chlorine must filter through a cell membrane and the results will vary depending on initial water conditions.

Cooling tower water is often treated with ozonation because even low dosages of ozone kills the Legionnaires Disease bacterium .

Spores can be sterilized using higher contact times and dosages. Algae grow is inhibited as the ozonation process oxidizes necessary nutrients.

Larger organisms such as cysts, giardia and cryptosporidium can be inactivated when water conditions have been analyzed to determine contact times.

Oxidation

Metals, are not removed by the ozonation process. However, they are effectively broken down into particulates which are easily removed by multimedia bed filtration. Iron and manganese are virtually eliminated. Heavy metals such as copper, arsenic and lead are reduced to levels below detection. Trace metals such as cadmium and zinc are reduced to levels below EPA standards. Sulfides (rotten egg smell) are oxidized into sulfates which eliminates offending odor.

The Environmental Protection Agency has identified over 700 organic compounds. Most of these are converted into carbon dioxide by ozone. VOC's (Volatile Organic Chemicals) are reduced by 97%. Pesticides such as phosone and aldrin are oxidized to destruction.

• Eliminates micro-organisms
• Does not require chemicals
• Ozone is produced on site as needed
• Removes hazardous contaminants like lead, arsenic and pesticides
• Provides round the clock treatment
• Available in many sizes