Using Ozone to Purify Water and Air

Ozone has been used to treat water, air, and the environment since the beginning of time. Thunderstorms regularily create ozone and other cleansing compounds such as hydrogen peroxide, which fall to the Earth, cleansing not only the ground, but the water and air we breathe. But in recent days, using ozone to purify water and air has started being banned in some regions. The state of California has especially cracked down on the use of ozone in air purifiers. This decision has come into sharp criticism since many countries, most notably France, Germany, and Switzerlard, use ozone as their primary method for purification of water. True this is not the same as air purification, but ozone as a compound has been shown to be harmless to humans, whether used to treat water or used to treat air, and ozone as a compound has had a long history of use as a purification agent.

Early in the 1900's, ozone underwent testing by scientists from Europe to see how viable of a disinfectant it was for springs and wells. Because of the efficacy of ozone, it has grown in popularity over the years, and as I stated earlier, it is also now the main method of water purification in many countries. Another cool use for ozone is in pool sanitation. Ozone generators are still expensive at this point, but are becoming cheaper everyday and are more and more being implemented in homes as a non-chlorine method for pool sanitation. Ozone has the ability to disinfect and render harmless compounds which are harmful to the human body. As science continues to investigate and discover the dangers of chlorine, not only from pools, but also in the water we drink, many people are choosing to bite the bullet and pay the extra money for a more natural sanitation method. As I stated before, ozone is a chemical that's naturally occurring, being created both by thunderstorms and by the ultraviolet spectrum of the sun's rays. Residing primarily in the upper atmosphere, ozone is considered essential to life.

So how does an ozone generator work? Well depending on whether or not the ozone generator is being used to purify water or air, it generally works by using electricity, ultraviolet light, and compressed air in order to generate ozone and distribute it into the environment. Ozone that's used in air filter technology is usually used to battle things like odors and mold. Some controversy exists as to just how effective ozone is as a mold remediation method, but experts continue to employ it in the field, which must tell us something. But let's get back to how the actual process works. When an ozone generator creates ozone, which is just three molecules of oxygen O3, the ozone molecules then oxidize impurities, which causes them to be destroyed or rendered harmless. Oxidization is both powerful and quick at dealing with harmful compounds and impurities, and ozone is among the quicker oxidizers, which is a nice benefit. Ozone functions similarly to hydrogen peroxide, which is also an oxidizing agent. Hydrogen peroxide is another widespread method of non-chlorine pool sanitation. So don't let anyone fool you into believing that ozone should be banned for use.


------

Ozone air purifiers for odor and mold control are growing in popularity, especially with NASA air purifier technology now being available that cleanses the environment more than any known system. Once you check it out, you won't settle for less.