About OZONE

USE IN AIR CONDITIONING

Molds in ducts, filters and other parts of ventilating equipment, in basements and other damp places produce objectionable odors. In low concentrations ozone masks odors, giving a freshness to the air noticeably absent in recirculated air. Also with time and the right humidity conditions, ozone destroys bacteria and mold. Where possible, ozone should be introduced in sufficient quantity to mix with all the air when the building is unoccupied. With recirculation, this will build up a concentration sufficient not only to deodorize the air but thoroughly disinfect and sterilize the entire building and HVAC equipment. This will result in the absolute elimination of molds, bacteria and decomposing organic material in the duct work and parts of the equipment that are inaccessible. This work should be completed and the ozone reduced to acceptable levels before the building is occupied again.

Controlled levels of ozone are used in Europe in air conditioning systems to deodorize and freshen the air in theaters, shopping malls, offices, etc. Demand for make-up air is reduced as the recycling system furnishes air of sufficient purity. Body odors, cigarette smoke, and various unpleasant smells are removed. These gases are mostly hydrocarbons, together with hydrogen sulfide, and are rapidly destroyed by ozone.

Our body automatically controls respiration. When air contains even minute and practically imperceptible quantities of disagreeable odors we involuntarily shorten our breathing. Even though the rate of respiration may increase under such conditions, the total volume of oxygen taken into our lungs is reduced. This results in a mild form of autointoxication as wastes increase in the blood, and we feel lethargic and tired.

In 1919, the first ozone machine was installed in the air duct of the O’FaIIon School (St. Louis). The effects were so positive that ozonators were installed in thirteen old schools and three new ones. Teachers and administrators noted an improvement in the health of the children and a reduction in the number of colds.The St. Louis Hygiene Department kept a record of all absences on account of illness, the nature of the disease and time lost. Two tests were conducted, one in the morning without ozone and one in the afternoon with ozone. Physicians from the Hygiene Department exposed agar dishes and delivered them to the City Bacteriologist for incubation and count. The afternoon test with ozone averaged half the bacteria count of the morning test when no ozone was used Another test was conducted with 65%

EFFECTS ON SPECIFIC BACTERIA, VIRUSES AND MOLDS

  • Aspergillus Niger (Black Mouni). Destroyed by 1.5 to 2 mg/l.
  • Bacillus Bacteria. Destroyed by 0.2 mg/l within 30 seconds.
  • Bacillus Anthracis. Causes anthrax in sheep, cattle, and pigs. Also a human pathogen. Ozone susceptible.
  • Candida Bacteria. Ozone susceptible.
  • Clostridium Bacteria. Ozone susceptible
  • ClostridiumBondinum spores. Its toxin paralyzes the central nervous system, being a poison multiplying in food and meals. 0.4 to 0.5 mg/l ozone threshold value.
  • Coxsackie Virus. Destroyed to zero level in less than 30 seconds by 0.1 0.8 mg/l.
  • Diptheria Pathogen. Destroyed by 1.5 to 2 mg/l.
  • Eberth Bacillus (Typhus abdominalis), Spreads typically by aqueous infection and caused typhoid. Destroyed by 1.5 to 2 mg/l.
  • Echo Virus 29: The virus most sensitive to ozone. After contact time of one minute at 1.0 mg/l of ozone, 99.9995 % killed.
  • Escherichius Coil Bacteria (from feces) Destroyed by 0.2 mg/l within 30 seconds.
  • Encephalomyacarditis Virus. Destroyed to zero level in less than 30 seconds with 0.1 to 0.8 mg/l.
  • Endamoebic Cysts Bacteria Ozone susceptible.
  • Enterovirus Virus. Destroyed to zero level in less than 30 seconds with 0.1 to 0.8 mg/l.
  • GDVII Virus. Destroyed to zero level in less than 30 seconds with 0.1 to 0.8 mg/l.
  • Herpes Virus. Destroyed to zero level in less than 30 seconds with 0.1 to 0.8 mg/l.
  • Influenza Virus. 0.4 to 0.5 mg/l threshold value.
  • Klebs-Loffler Bacillus. Destroyed by 1.5 to 2.0 mg/l.
  • Luminescent Basidiomycetes (species having no melanin pigment). Destroyed in 10 mins at 100 ppm.
  • Penicillin Bacteria. Ozone susceptible.
  • Poliomyelitis Virus. Kill of 99.99% with .3 to .4 mg/l in 3 to 4 minutes.
  • Proteus Bacteria. Very susceptible.
  • Pseudomonas Bacteria. Very susceptible.
  • Rhabdovirus Virus. Destroyed to zero level in less than 30 secs with .1 to .8 mg/l.
  • Salmonella Bacteria. Very susceptible.
  • Schistosoma Bacteria. Very susceptible.
  • Shigella Bacteria. Very susceptible.
  • Staphylococci. Causing general inflammation. Destroyed by 1.5 to 2 mg/l.
  • Stomatitis Virus. Destroyed to zero level in less than 30 secs with .1 to .8 mg/l.
  • Streptococcus Bacteria. Destroyed by .2 mg/l within 30 secs.
  • Vesicular Virus. Destroyed to zero level in less than 30 secs with .1 to .8 mg/l.
  • Vibrio Cholera Bacteria. Very susceptible.
  • Vicia Faba progeny. Ozone causes chromosome aberration and its effect is twice that observed by the action of X-rays.
  • The effect of ozone below a certain critical concentration value is small or zero. Above this level, all pathogens are eventually destroyed. This effect is called all-or-none response and the critical level the “threshold value”.
  • There is a two-step process of inactivation of viruses. Period one lasts less than 10 seconds. during which lime a kill rate of shout 99% is achieved. Period two runs for several minutes to complete destruction. This phenomenon is independent of changes in ozone concentration between 0.07 and 2.5 mg/l.

“Exposure to Ozone reduces influenza disease severity and alters distribution of influenza viral antigens in murine lungs.”

HEALTH AND MEDICINE

Effects on Influenza

This study was undertaken to assess the effects of exposure to ozone on the course of influenza virus infection. Mice were exposed to ozone or filtered air, or both, with aerosolized infection by influenza virus. It was found that animals exposed to ozone during infection showed a reduced severity of disease measured by decreased mortality and delayed time of death.

Ozone Reduces Harmful Ammonia and Hydrogen Sulfide

Ammonia, and to some degree hydrogen sulfide, affect pig performance directly (by altering metabolic reactions) and indirectly (by influencing pig health). Atmospheric ammonia was particularly damaging to young pigs infected with Ascaris suum. (Ref. 173, 174 and 175) Ozone converts ammonia (NH3) to harmless nitrogen and water vapor. Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) is broken down into water and sulphur dioxide, also a powerful disinfectant.

pH DEPENDENCY

Ozone does not react with water; therefore the free electric charge of bacteria or virus cells does not reduce the sterilizing effect. This fact constitutes one of the major advantages of ozone over other disinfectants.

OXIDATION POTENTIAL

Ozone owes its excellent bactericidal, virucidal, and sporicidal activities to its powerful oxidizing properties. Ozone has an oxidation potential of +2.07 volts as compared to HOCL (the active form chlorine in aqueous solution) which is + 1.49 volts. It is reported to be 3000 times as germicidal as chlorine. It retains this strong oxidizing capability in aqueous solution, a property crucial for water disinfection and sterilization, as well as in high humidity air applications.

HALF LIFE

As soon as ozone is formed, it starts to decay to oxygen. The half life is 2.5 to 7 minutes in most applications, depending on the ambient conditions. In cool, sterile environment the half-life can extend to 60 minutes.

OZONE COMPARED TO OTHER GASEOUS DISINFECTANTS

Gaseous disinfectants in common use are sulphur dioxide, formaldehyde, and in certain applications, hydrocyanic acid. It has been clearly demonstrated that ozone in equivalent concentrations exerts a much stronger bactericidal effect than any of the foregoing disinfectants. To obtain the same bactericidal effect a concentration of 160 times the amount is required for sulphur dioxide, 37 times the amount for formaldehyde, and 1.7 times the amount for hydrocyanic acid gas.

SOME SPECIFIC COMPOUNDS OXIDIZED BY OZONE

WARNING: Care should be exercised if gas or vapor concentrations in air are suspected to be in the explosive range as ozone is a VERY aggressive oxidizer. Also, some products, even as oxides, may become or remain toxic.

  • Amnonia
  • Phenolics
  • Detergents
  • Natural rubber: Thin sections of natural rubber, such as surgical gloves, are very rapidly oxidized by ozone. Thicker sections of filled rubber(tires, door seals, etc.) and synthetic rubber (Buna N) are unaffected except by extremely high concentrations over very long periods of time. Silocone rubber is unaffected.
  • Fulvic Acid
  • Tannic Acids (plant-originated acids).
  • Sulfides
  • Cyanides
  • Spores of molds (very effective)
  • Amoeae (very effective)
  • Cigarette Smoke: A puff of cigarette smoke contains 4 billion particles and more than 1500 compounds, ranging from light, reactive gases (deadly carbon monoxide is one), suspended chemical particles and tars. Ozone destroys most of these products and even “burns” the lighter tars in the air and converts them to harmless carbon.
  • 2.4D
  • Arsenic
  • Chlorine and its derivatives
  • DDT
  • Dioxin
  • Haloforms Strongly reduced by ozone. Large amounts of Aldehydes and Keytones are produced as a byproduct. With a reaction time of 10 to 1440 minutes the concentration of the Aldehydes will be 8.5 times larger at a dosage of 5 mg/l and 30.6 times larger at a dosage of 5 mg/l.
  • Halogen compounds. 1.0 mg/l reduces by 31% and 5.0 mg/l reduces by 77% during a very long reaction time.
  • Nitrates
  • Perchlorate Biphenyis. With simultaneous ultraviolet irradiation, it is even possible to subject
  • PCB’s, the notorious successor of DDT, to oxidative decomposition. (Ref. 151, p. 15) – Phenol
  • Trihalomethanes (toxic product of a chlorine, algae reduction)
  • Tricholorphenol. 1.0 mg/l reduces 500 microgram Tricholorphenol and 5.0 mg/lreduces 2500 Tricholorphenol.

USE IN PRODUCT STORAGE

Ozone has been used in food preservation since 1909. Storage places, warehouses and refrigerated lockers can be disinfected. High humidity in the environment favorably influences germicidal effect. Ozone decomposition is accelerated due to high moisture content, the walls of the storage room, the packaging materials, the absorption effect of the stored goods, and also the oxidation reactions taking place. The ozone generator must have sufficient capacity to maintain ozone at the required level. A strong air movement is required to assure optimum distribution of ozone. The storage space need not be airtight as long as the capacity of the ozone generator is sufficient to replenish the ozone lost through air exchange.

The prerequisite in the control of microorganisms is the maintenance of clean environment. The microbial population of the product and the storage environment determine the storage life of the product. When a food product is exposed to contamination during preparation, handling or storage, large numbers of microorganisms are introduced into the product. In food, microorganisms find a favorable habitat for growth and each new generation of bacteria means a doubling of the population. The result is a breakdown of the food product evidenced by objectionable physical appearance, taste and odor.

There is no compound that can be applied to a dirty surface to destroy all microorganisms. To demonstrate, a good sanitizer was applied liberally to a dirty wall in a food handling plant. This wall had a bacterial population of 28,000,000 organisms on a two-inch square. Five minutes after treatment the wall still had a bacteria count of 11,000,000. Although the contamination had been reduced. the wall was still heavily contaminated. A food product entering this storage room had a relatively low surface bacteria count, but in 48 hours the product had a count of 150,000 in a two-inch square. Air examination showed an extremely high bacteria count. Even though the multiplication of bacteria might be slowed by low temperature, the product was acquiring a high count that would reduce its shelf-life after it left the storage room. If kept for a longer period in storage, its storage life would be considerably shorter than if stored in a room relatively free of contamination.

Fish Storage

Freshly caught fish can be stored longer if washed in water containing ozone. If it is packed in ice made from water containing ozone, freshness can be extended.

Control of Surface Microflora

In a refrigerated atmosphere with ozone, the growth of the surface microflora (pseudomonas families, spores, Salmonellae and staphylococci) is eliminated or retarded.

Forequarters of beef with relatively equal bacteria counts were tested. one in the ozonetreated refrigerator at a concentration of approximately 0.1 p.p.m.v. of ozone and 60o F and the other under similar conditions except for the lack of ozone. At the end of the test period, the ozone-treated beef had about the same count as at the start, but the untreated beef showed an increase of 600 percent.

Ozone used in beef storage is most efficient if the meat surface has around 60% moisture content.

Beef stored in a cooler under an ozone concentration of 0.04 p.p.m at 2o C, experiences 0.9 to 1.0 percent less shrinkage in three days and 17 percent less in 7 days. Trim loss is reduced by 2.6 to 5.5 percent. This is less shrinkage and trim loss than meat stored under identical conditions but without ozone usage.

The storage life of beef in a refrigerated state can be increased by 30 to 40 percent if the beef is kept in an atmosphere of 7.7 to 15 p.p.m. and the microbial saturation of its surface is not greater than 1000 bacteria per square em.

Maintenance of Cooling Coils Ozone eliminates or reduces mold build-up on cooling coils. Dirt and dust build-up is reduced,. drastically reducing the number of times coils need cleaning and increasing energy efficiency.

Product Storage

Ozone maintains produce quality by inactivation of metabolic products and destruction of odors and microorganisms. These properties makes ozone an excellent means of increasing the storage life of perishable foods in refrigeration. At the same time its use is economical as the investment and operating costs of the equipment are on an acceptable level in relation to the size of refrigerated rooms. Its application eliminates the risk of leaving the unpleasant odor or other traces of antiseptic used for the preservation of produce.

Ozone’s Effect on Produce

Ozone only affects the surface of the fruit, which contains compounds difficult to oxidize in most cases. Ozone has no detrimental effect on fruit itself. Although ozone is a very powerful oxidizing agent, it can not penetrate deeply into most fruits because of the lack of permeability of most fruit skins.

Ethylene Removal

During storage the process of respiration of fruit is sped up and so is ripening. Ethylene is produced which affects other fruit and so initiates even more intensive ripening. The external signs of this process are browning of the skin, the softening of the flesh of the fruit and, finally, decay. This process is controlled by the presence of ozone because it oxidizes the metabolic products.

Ozone destroys ethylene as it emerges from the fruit. The gas is readily oxidized by ozone.

It also promotes the healing of wounds and enhances resistance to further infection.

Mold Elimination

The primary action of ozone on molds is to suppress their growth, and then destruction of the cultures already formed. Ozone prevents the formation of various mold colonies on the walls of the storage room, on packaging materials and wooden crates; these molds, even if doing no harm to the produce, readily impart a stale odor to it. In the environment of refrigerated storage, Blue Mold multiplies readily and its growth is not retarded even by temperatures as low as 32o F.

EFFECTS ON SPECIFIC PRODUCE

The following produce has been tested and positive results have been obtained in extending storage life.

(Ozone can also extend the storage life of cheese and eggs.)

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