The most powerful natural sanitiser: Ozone

With the emergence of COVID-19, this technology, used for decades in wastewater treatment and the food industry, is being used to disinfect rooms, gear and PPE.

First, what is ozone? 
Ozone is a naturally occurring compound in which three oxygen atoms are combined to form the ozone molecule (O3). Oxygen most commonly exists as two oxygen atoms (O2). Ozone forms when energy from ultraviolet (UV) light or electrical discharge break the O2 double bonds, forming single oxygen atoms, which recombine with O2 molecules to create Ozone.

Quick highlights: 

• A powerful oxidant that kills 99% of bacteria, fungi, and viruses and removes odours
• Over 50% more efficient at breaking through bacteria membranes compared to chlorine
• Easily and economically produced at point of use
• Decomposes into oxygen leaving no by-products

Why use ozone?
Ozone, is an environmentally friendly natural gas. O3 attaches itself to bacteria, fungus, germs, odours, and other containments and, at the molecular level, destroys the cell wall. This process eliminates the containment while reverting the ozone back to oxygen.

While extremely powerful, the waste product of ozone is oxygen. “Ozone is one of the friendliest and cleanest ways of deactivating viruses and killing most any pathogen,” says M.G. Finn, chair of the Georgia Institute of Technology’s School of Chemistry and Biochemistry. 

The antimicrobial capacity of O3 includes not only bacteria, but moulds, viruses, and protozoa.  Therefore, O3 has been suggested as a powerful alternative to traditional disinfectants. 

Ozone and coronavirus
Ozone gas has been shown to have a high efficacy against viruses and bacteria including SARS and MERS and recently a research team led by Nara Medical University in Japan has been able to inactivate the COVID 19 through exposure to ozone gas.

Uses of Ozone
The three main uses for ozone are: 

1. Disinfection and sterilisation 
2. Ozone is used for biological and chemical decontamination in hospitals, food industry, wastewater management, hospitality, and more. Common disinfection uses include removing bacteria and killing germs and viruses
3. Deodorisation

When ozone hits molecules like mould or smoke, the third oxygen atom attaches itself to molecules of the pollutant and eliminates it. Through this process, ozone generators can be extremely useful for cleaning pungent odours, removing the smell of smoke, and eliminating mould.

Indoor Air Quality
Ozone can be used on an incidental or regular basis to decontaminate interiors, ventilation systems and air conditioning, to clean and purify the air by killing bacteria, mould, mildew and allergens.

Ozone dosage
Available scientific evidence shows that ozone concentrations that are safe to breathe are unlikely to be effective in controlling indoor air pollution. Ozone in air must reach high levels to remove air pollutants.

The international protocol for effective ozone concentration was researched by the Universität Tübingen where they found that to have a higher efficacy the standard to set is 2.5 ppm for 30 minutes. 

Ozone generators from Justrite 
Justrite designs and manufactures a series of ozone generator systems for a safe and effective decontamination treatment with no harmful by-products using patented technologies for dual-range-controlled dosing ozone generators and ASPozone air treatment filters and oxygen concentrators. 

Our ozone generators focus on key features in relation to safety for the operator and the environment, and reliability with a fully automated process that ensures recorded and certifiable treatments. 

Safety is Essential
All process parameters are monitored and recorded, and operational functions can also be managed remotely. Once the natural conversion of ozone into oxygen is complete, a controller indicates when the rooms can be accessed. The result is a certifiably sanitized space. 

Easy to Use
Simply press the start button, the machine then analyzes the parameters of the environment, starts the treatment, completes the sanitation cycle and switches off automatically.

Reliable
Our ozone generators are set to sterilize according to the international protocol. They also meet REACH, ROHS and CE certification for medical devices EU2017/745.

Applications
Ozone has been used in many applications, such as wastewater treatment since 1906, and since then it’s used across many more industries including:

• Hospitality
• Hospitals
• Breweries
• Agriculture
• Sport Centres
• Facility Management
• Bottled water production
• Mould, fire or water damage
• Smoke and tobacco areas
• Car rentals.

To find out more visit  eu.justrite.com/v-defence or contact saleseu@justrite.com