Ozonification In Water Treatment Essay, Research Paper

Ozonification in Water Treatment Report

Ozone is nature’s agent for cleaning and treating both air and water. That clean fresh smell in the air following a thunderstorm, the bright sky and brilliant colors of nature are due to ozone – created by lightning and the Sun’s energy. Ozone is a gas that is created naturally in our atmosphere when oxygen in the air is exposed to high intensity ultraviolet rays. Both the sun and lightning create the ozone. Ozone is also one of nature’s best bleaching agents, restoring discolored water to its naturally clear state. As an oxidizer and microflocculant, it also helps reduce unwanted organic material form water, such as iron, manganese, hydrogen sulfide, tannin, and algae. Ozone has been the preferred treatment in Europe since 1904 for drinking water. Today, there are over 2500 cities world wide relying on ozone for their water treatment. Ozone dissolves in water ten times faster than pure oxygen and has a half-life of approximately twenty minutes (when dissolved in water) before it reverts back to oxygen. As ozone oxidizes and treats, it loses its highly unstable third oxygen atom. Ozone does six things during water treatment. First ozone reduces iron, manganese, hydrogen sulfide, and various other minerals from water by oxidation and microfloculation. Second, ozone reduces algae, fungus, yeast, and mold from the water. Third, ozone oxidizes oils and precipitates some, but not all, heavy metals. Fourth, ozone increases the dissolved oxygen content of the water. Fifth, ozone reduces color and odors in water. Sixth, ozone reduces stains on clothing, bathtubs, toilets, showers and sinks.