Ozone Ma

Producing Ozone for Treatment

The picture at left shows the way ozone is formed. The ozone exposure chart shows spectrum of ozone hazard to people.

Low levels of ozone in the air are healthy and completely safe. However ozone when concentrated can become an irritant to people or animals who breathe it. The harm in ozone comes from the fact that in concentrated form it is able to attack the mucus membrane tissue of the breathing passage and eyes.

Using Ozone Gas to Purify

Ozone is recognized as the best disinfection agent for commercially sold spring water, distilled water, and bottled water. Completely effective in killing any and all bacteria, viruses, and microbiological organisms in water, the ozone after being introduced degrades naturally back to oxygen in the water. Water that is high in dissolved oxygen is also recognized as very healthy to drink. Highly oxygenated water provides an energy boost when consumed, because the dissolved oxygen consumed with the water enters immediately into the bloodstream. But besides the invigorating effects and "natural high" of highly oxygenated water, many people simply like the "sweet" taste that highly oxygenated water naturally imparts.

In waste water treatment, or when used on water recycled in manufacturing processes, ozone is ideal for both disinfecting the water and also in removing target contaminants. These target contaminants would be chemicals, or products that ozone quickly can break down by virtue o f it's ability as an oxidizing agent. For example, Iron, maganese, phenol compounds, VOC's, organic matter, tannins, lignins, color in the water, and many other harmful contaminants in water can be easily removed by intelligently applying ozone to the water. Once the target contaminants are removed, the now treated waste water is suitable for recycling in some cases (where cost affective), or it can be lawfully discharged to the sewer or to the ground without any detriments to the natural environment or harm to the groundwater.

HMBI can provide all of the components required for a cost effective treatment system using ozone. If you are considering ozone treatment, let HMBI help.

Above are pictures where ozone is being used for treatment.

The field equipment in the picture at the left was installed at an HMBI client's location to be used for disinfection and for color removal in a waste water stream. Ozone is capable of removing all color from waste water, and simultaneously providing complete disinfection to the water. In fact the water at this site is suitable for recycling and is totally safe after ozone treatment. It is recycled and used to supply all of the gray water to toilets and bathroom urinals throughout the complex.
The field picture on the right demonstrates a highly efficient ozone injection format, as would be used in an HMBI bottled water or potable water disinfection and sanitization stream. While typically, tanks and plumbing are not of the type that you can see through, this shows the dynamics of ozone contacting relevant to any type of water stream.

The pictures above are of small and large ozone gas destruct modules. These ozone gas destruct modules are used to remove ozone off-gas coming from an ozone treatment application. By virtue of their design, these destruct modules completely convert ozone back to elemental oxygen gas (O2) from which it is produced. Ozone destruct modules are often sized to work with the volume of ozone and the gas flow rate that is present at a jobsite. They are completely safe, and very user friendly.

The reasons for using ozone destruct modules are several. While HMBI uses highly efficient engineering to introduce ozone to a client's water, it is generally impossible to put 100 percent of the available ozone produced into the water requiring treatment. There are natural laws of chemistry and physics which impose physical limits to ozone solubility. The amount of ozone which can be dissolved into water is a function of the water's temperature, the partial pressure of the water, and the water's contaminant loading. Depending on the application and the working conditions, typically 80 to 99 percent of the ozone will be successfully applied to the water being treated. The remainder of the ozone is "off-gassed" or released from the water and potentially available for release into the air.

Other reasons for installing an ozone destruct module are where ozone is manufactured by electrical arcing or ultraviolet light. Copy machines, welding and cutting torches, high voltage transfomers and the like can generate ozone levels which may accumulate and become irritating to personnel in the workplace or otherwise become a hazard to property. Ozone destruct modules are used to safeguard that this doesn't happen.

Good ozone management generally requires an ozone destruct be installed if there is even the possibility that OSHA's limits for safe ozone exposure are going to be reached. Where ozone is being injected into water to purify it, unless the area is well ventilated, we like to install a destruct module so that ozone will not accumulate to OSHA limits for safe exposure.

The air leaving the ozone destruct module has had all of the ozone safely removed. Once the ozone is gone, the air can be safely and responsibly discharged to the outdoor environment.

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