What is Ozone.
Ozone (O3) is a triatomic molecule, consisting of three oxygen atoms. It is an allotrope of oxygen that is much less stable than the diatomic O2.
Most people can detect about 0.01 parts per million (ppm) in air. Exposure of 0.1 to 1 ppm produces headaches, burning eyes, and irritation to the respiratory passages.Ozone is 1.5 times as dense as oxygen.
The largest use of ozone is in the preparation of pharmaceuticals, synthetic lubricants, as well as many other commercially useful organic compounds, where it is used to sever carbon-carbon bonds.It can also be used for bleaching substances and for killing microorganisms in air and water sources.
Commercially, ozone is used to:
- Disinfect laundry in hospitals, food factories, care homes etc.
- Disinfect water in place of chlorin.
- Deodorize air and objects, such as after a fire. This process is extensively used in Fabric Restoration.
- Kill bacteria on food or on contact surfaces.
- Sanitize swimming pools and spas
- Scrub yeast and mold spores from the air in food processing plants;
- Wash fresh fruits and vegetables to kill yeast, mold and bacteria.
- Chemically attack contaminants in water.
- Manufacture chemical compounds via chemical synthesis.
- Clean and bleach fabrics (the former use is utilized in Fabric Restoration; the latter use is patented);
- Assist in processing plastics to allow adhesion of inks;
- Age rubber samples to determine the useful life of a batch of rubber;
- Eradicate water borne parasites such as Giardia lamblia and Cryptosporidium in surface water treatment plants.
Many hospitals around the world use ozone generators to decontaminate operating rooms between surgeries. The rooms are cleaned and then sealed airtight before being filled with ozone which effectively kills or neutralizes all remaining bacteria.