Air compressors are typically only required for larger ozone systems, say for municipal wastewater or high-flow/high-contaminant water. For these larger treatment systems, the air compressor plays a vital role in the achieving optimum oxygen and ozone generation. A comprehensive understanding of site conditions, compressed air quality and electricity source are extremely important in the sizing and selection of the air compressor.

Total Organic Carbon (TOC) is a measure of the total amount of carbon in organic compounds found in water. TOC is a valued, analytical technique that helps determine the purity of water. It is used to determine the quality of drinking water and the purity of water for use in various manufacturing processes such as pharmaceuticals, semiconductors and power generation.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have approved ozone for bottle sanitation as well as food and contact surface applications. Ozone can be applied as a final sanitation rinse following standard cleaning practices. Because ozone is chemical free and quickly breaks down to oxygen after treatment, it is a “no rinse” sanitizer for bottle filling lines.

The zebra mussel or Dreissena polymorpha, was first discovered in Lake St Clair, near Detroit Michigan in 1988. It is a freshwater invasive species that spreads rapidly, and is difficult and costly to remove. Over the past 30+ years, zebra mussels have infested waters throughout the Great Lakes and as far south as the Mississippi River.

Iron in drinking water not only affects colour and taste, but it can have detrimental health impacts. Ozone in the treatment train offers a safe and effective solution for the removal of iron and iron bacteria, all while preserving the healthy minerals inherent in the source water. Ozone works by oxidizing iron resulting in the formation of insoluble metal particles that are then removed through post filtration, typically activated by carbon filters.

Per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are known as “forever chemicals”, a diverse group of synthetic chemicals that are resistant to grease, oil, water and heat. They contain elemental bonds of carbon and fluorine (C-F) which results in an extremely strong chemical substance that does not disintegrate in the environment or the human body and can accumulate over time.

Ozone, approved for use as a disinfectant, would be part of the cleaning process to help lessen chemicals (but likely not eliminate them). For sanitation, ozone is typically used as a cold-water final rinse sanitation following the other cleaning steps in place of hot water and chemicals.

Bacteria and other organisms have a cell wall which enables it to maintain its shape, and is vital to its survival. Once ozone molecules come into contact with the cell wall an oxidative burst occurs which results in a tiny perforation.

Controlling ozone dosage is important for system efficiencies and treatment assurance. There are two ways this is achieved;

The use of ozone can extend the life of your cooling tower, in addition to offering significant operational and maintenance savings and environmental benefits. Cooling towers associated with chillers for air-conditioning are ideal applications for ozone water treatment.

Contaminants of Emerging Concern (CEC’s) are the pesticides, pharmaceuticals, hormones, chemicals, micropollutants, and microplastics that are becoming more prevalent in our water due to human, agricultural and industrial activities. Our research project with McGill University demonstrated our system’s ability to remove 86% of these on average from wastewater.

Oxidative Reduction is used in water and wastewater treatment, essentially to determine the level of disinfection in the water in real time. Using a handheld or in-line probe, ORP is measured in millivolts (mV) to determine how strong an oxidant like ozone or peroxide is in the water in real-time (think measuring the charge of the oxidants in the water).

CT Value refers to the Contact Time required for optimum disinfection. In general CT values are much lower for ozone water treatment disinfection than chlorine. Ozone essentially splits pathogens and, therefore, delivers an “instant kill”. Chlorine requires more time to penetrate the bacteria.