AIR TREATMENT WITH OZONE (written by a manufacturer of
industrial ozone systems)
While low level
ozone air treatment is not
use, the following article gives a little more information to expel some of the
oxygen from the air is subjected to a high energy pulse the usually
diatomic molecules break down into single atoms and recombine. Some of
these recombined molecules contain three oxygen atoms instead of two.
This new compound is called Ozone. Because of the crowding in the
molecule and the dispersion of the electronic charge, ozone is less
stable and reacts rapidly with oxidizeable substances.
Ozone, which is produced in nature,
acts in the environment to keep in check natural pollutants which would
otherwise overrun the earth and make it uninhabitable. Areas of high
pollution such as cities are missing the naturally made Ozone because it
is being used up by all the oxidizeable substances being spewed into the
air from cars and factories. When you take a trip to the countryside,
and sit down by a mountain stream, you can breathe the refreshing air
because the natural ozone has been in a surplus and has had an
opportunity to remove the oxidizeable materials.
buildings are built with vapor barriers, and a high degree of insulation
such that there is no longer the natural exchange of air between the
outside and the inside. Meanwhile more and more of our furnishings and
floor coverings are made from synthetic materials. Under the stagnant
air conditions which prevail because of the lack of ventilation,
decomposition products and solvents leach out of these synthetic
materials and fill the indoor space. Much has been said about the
sick building syndrome and this usually refers to institutional
buildings. But they have basically the same problems as the private
People exposed to such conditions
suffer from symptoms of environmental toxicity. Health effects may show
immediately or years after exposure to bad indoor air. Immediate effects
include irritation of the eyes, nose and throat, sinus congestion,
headaches, fever, shortness of breath, dizziness, nausea, anxiety,
allergic reactions, sneezing, dry cough and fatigue. Effects of long
term exposure include: emphysema, asthma and other respiratory diseases,
hypersensitivity, allergic rhinitis, carbon monoxide poisoning,
influenza, pneumonia, humidifier fever, heart disease and cancer. All of
these troubling chemicals have one thing in common they are oxidizeable.
When inhaled, they increase the demand for oxygen in the human body and
thus deplete the body of oxygen. Most pathogens causing illness, such as
bacteria, viruses, cancer, and fungi, are anaerobic. As a result these
pathogens can thrive only where oxygen levels are depleted. This
explains why it is so important for people to breath fresh air.
Oxygen in its restructured form known
as Ozone is about 3,500 x more potent as an oxidant than normal oxygen.
Thus even in small and harmless levels it kills all of the anaerobic
pathogens mentioned above. It also oxidizes all harmful pollutants into
much less harmful or completely harmless compounds. For example: Carbon
Monoxide (CO) is perhaps the most dangerous gas known. It has no smell
and it bonds to human blood about 600 x faster than oxygen. It is a real
killer. Ozone adds one oxygen to the molecule, turning CO to CO2
which is carbon dioxide a harmless gas which we discharge with each
breath in large quantities. CO2 cannot be further oxidized.
Plants breath CO2 in the daylight, utilizing the carbon in
the molecule to build their bodies while discharging oxygen back for
people to breath.
is high levels of oxygen which make air fresh, along with low but
measurable levels of ozone, very little dust, and no oxidizeable chemicals.
After a lightning storm, rain washes down the dust, lightning produces
ozone thus removing all oxidizeable gasses and killing the pathogens. The
result? It feels so good to take a deep breath. Lightning storms are
more frequent in mountains where during sunny days UV radiation from the
sun also combines a small portion of oxygen into ozone. For centuries
people in Europe sick with Tuberculosis and other severe illnesses have
been sent to special, high mountain resorts often with excellent
results. Ozone is a disinfectant. Did you notice that
flu season comes with the rainy season in the Autumn? This time of year
brings in cloud cover which limits UV radiation and therefore reduces
the natural production of ozone. As a result, airborne bacteria and
viruses get around much easier.
When there is a surplus of Ozone in the
air, it will kill all bacteria, viruses and mould. Ozone in natural
settings is around 0.02 ppm, but it can be as high as 0.10 ppm. At this
level it is capable of keeping pathogens in check and yet is not harmful
to higher life forms such as fish, birds, animals or man. Ozone does not
cause harm to the environment contrary to some irresponsible
statements. Only a prolonged exposure to very unnatural high levels of
ozone may lead to discomfort, later headache and coughing. Such symptoms
tell you to leave the space and seek better air leaving without
Too much of any good thing is harmful.
Even healthy food or drink can harm you if taken excessively. Not one
case however has ever been recorded of a human death associated to
ozone. So why does nature alert us in the case of over-exposure to very
high levels of ozone? When too much of ozone is inhaled, some of it
breaks down partially and it may combine into small amounts of so-called
free radicals. These are known to cause damage to human cells
which can be described as premature aging. But the body knows, and has
its defense in antioxidants. A typical antioxidant is Vitamin C,
E, Carotene along with many other natural elements found in our daily
food. Unfortunately, most foods are now so processed and refined that
many useful elements such as minerals, and vitamins are stripped away.
People have also treated their water supply with chlorine, a toxic
chemical used in war to kill people.
Only Ozone is able to reverse some of
the harm caused by chlorine by breaking down these harmful substances,
even inside the human body. Antioxidants in general keep blood a bit
more acidic and ozone is known to be more stable (thus not forming free
radicals so easily) in more acidic solutions. Over 4000 scientific
papers have been written about the health benefits of ozone.
Ozone can be produced in its cleanest form by a process
simulating natural lighting in devices called Corona Discharge Ozone
Generators. First patented in 1895, ozone generators have been substantially
improved over the years. The manufacturers of the ozone equipment
www.o3ozone.com offers, has for decades
been on the frontier of this development. Copied by many, yet always staying a
few steps ahead. Today, a whole product line suitable for air treatment, water
treatment, wastewater treatment along with a variety of other applications are
In the home, ozone can be used to oxidize many
disagreeable odors, such as: solvents from fresh paint, cooking odors, cigarette
smoke, animal odors, litter box odors, garbage, mildew, glue smell from new
furniture, and all other smells of organic or inorganic origin. There is
virtually no smell that ozone cannot treat. Ozone oxidizes harmful elements
before they can enter your body and seek oxygen from your body.
Deodorants mask odors by making more odors. In this
manner they behave very much like using a loud radio to cover up the cry of a
child, or a using a flash light against your eye to hide what you are not
suppose to see. Ozone however actually reacts and oxidizes odors into harmless
compounds. Ozone is unique ozone can do it.
In light of ozones many benefits, we can now describe
how an ozone generator can be implemented for air treatment in homes or other
smaller buildings. Government regulations for ozone levels vary. In Europe,
based on decades of scientific studies continuous exposure to ozone is allowed
to a maximum of 0.15 ppm. In Canada the limits were arbitrarily lowered to 0.10
ppm. When the U.S. government looked at the Canadian levels, it decided that
0.08 ppm was going to be the U.S. limit. As a result, mountain hikes may now be
illegal for you since the natural levels of ozone may exceed the government
standards. Fortunately, it is not necessary to maintain ozone levels in the home anywhere close to the above limits. When the ozone level is close to the
limit levels it smells so strong and it can hardly remain unnoticed. Ozone can
be noticed at much lower levels, even below 0.01 ppm.
If we release ozone into a smelly room, for some time
there will be no ozone residual left at all as all ozone will be consumed in
oxidizing the odors. Only after the job is completed will some ozone residual
start to appear. Even at the lowest levels, ozone already kills any bacteria
present. This makes the configuration of the ozone output from our ozone
generators an easy task.