Ozone gas is now-a-days used for treatment of drinking water, disinfection, and air-purification. What one re- quires is a small and handy unit to be plugged into mains to get ozonated air at suitable pressure flowing out from a tube It can then be let into environment or bubbled through water or any other polluted liquid. But the gadget must be completely safe to work with.
Ozone generators invariably make use of a discharge tube to which a high electric field is applied so as to break down the oxygen present in the air. This phenomenon occurs at or near a field strength of 25 kV/cm, and the resulting discharge that takes place is known as corona. The corona has a light bluish glow. It is in this corona field that oxygen becomes ozone (O3).
Ozone has tendency to revert back to its original form in about 10-20 minutes, in the atmosphere. Therefore, it is necessary in any ozone application to generate ozone as and when requied for use since it cannot be kept stored the way chlorine is stored (in cylinders). Chlorine is used in our cities to disinfect drinking water supply. It is highly carcinogenic because when it comes into contact with remnants of pesticides in our foodstuff (vegetables), it generathalomethanes, which are carcinogenic. That is why, ozone is used today in preference to chlorine. Complete disinfection of water, in any impure form, is realised with an ozone content of 4 mg/litre.
Ozone generators invariably make use of a discharge tube to which a high electric field is applied so as to break down the oxygen present in the air. This phenomenon occurs at or near a field strength of 25 kV/cm, and the resulting discharge that takes place is known as corona. The corona has a light bluish glow. It is in this corona field that oxygen becomes ozone (O3).
Ozone has tendency to revert back to its original form in about 10-20 minutes, in the atmosphere. Therefore, it is necessary in any ozone application to generate ozone as and when requied for use since it cannot be kept stored the way chlorine is stored (in cylinders). Chlorine is used in our cities to disinfect drinking water supply. It is highly carcinogenic because when it comes into contact with remnants of pesticides in our foodstuff (vegetables), it generathalomethanes, which are carcinogenic. That is why, ozone is used today in preference to chlorine. Complete disinfection of water, in any impure form, is realised with an ozone content of 4 mg/litre.
