OZONE APPLICATIONS EXPLORED:

HAS OZONE FINALLY REACHED YOUR INDUSTRY?

Many of you might have heard of ozone (designated O3) being used in many aspects of industry, including food processing, cooling towers and other bio-bacteria control measures. In this issue we are going to touch on how ozone is being applied in these applications and how you might benefit from this emerging technology.

Food Processing & Ozone Today

The use of ozone in the processing of foods has recently come to the forefront as a result of the recent approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approving the use of ozone as an anti-microbial agent for food treatment, storage and processing. The FDA approval marks a watershed event for the food industry. Prior to the approval, FDA had approved ozone for use only as a disinfection mechanism for bottled water production and the sterilization of bottled water lines.

As a result of the recent FDA ruling, it is anticipated that ozone in food processing will be accelerated due to a number of factors:

1. The use of chlorine by the U.S. food industry is coming under increasing scrutiny by regulators due to toxicity issues and disinfection byproducts (DBPs).

2. Ozone has been proven to produce greater lethality rates for microorganisms than chlorine or other chemical sanitizing agents.

3. The increasing cost of water resources (both makeup and discharge), together with the drive toward more conservation, will stimulate industry to seek treatment methods which allow recycling of product wash water and process water.

4. Advances in ozone generation and applications technologies have continued to make the process more reliable and economical.

Ozone is particularly suited to the food industry because of its ability to disinfect microorganisms without adding chemical by-products to the food being treated, or to the food processing water or atmosphere in which food are stored. In aqueous solutions, ozone can be used to disinfect equipment, process water, and some foodstuff. In gaseous form, ozone can act as a preservative for certain foods products and can also sanitize food packaging materials.

Ready-to-Eat Meat Industry
Over the past few years, the use of ozone in the ready-to-eat meat processing industry has taken many turns in the quest for sanitation and control of bacteria, such as Listeria Monocytogenes. Eventually, the desired kill levels were reached by more controlled usage of Ozone and lower PPMs.

CCSI offers the most advanced low-flow aqueous ozone machine on the market today -- the EnviroWash, which allows you dial-in ozone levels from 1 PPM to 10 PPM. This type of control gives facilities the bacterial kill levels they need when and where they they need them. The high-pressure Hurricane container sanitizer, is also very effective in decontaminating tractor trailers and other areas of the plant.

We have been exploring some new solutions to protecting your equipment and complimenting ozone in your operation. Join us at the upcoming O3 Detroit Live Forum (free to interested parties) to see demonstrations and participate in the industry-specific forums. See the schedule by visiting the O3 Forum Web site.

Ozone Treatment for Cooling Towers
New Energy and Water Saving Technology
to Reduce Cooling Tower Operating Costs

The use of ozone as a water treatment for cooling towers has good potential for operation and water usage savings. A small amount of ozone acts as a powerful biocide that decreases or nearly eliminates the need to remove quantities of water from the cooling tower in order to decrease the concentration of organic and mineral solids in the system. Ozone treatment can also reduce the need for chemical additives added to the cooling tower water.

In a properly installed and operating system, bacterial counts are reduced, with a subsequent minimization of the buildup of biofilm on heat exchanger surfaces. The resulting reduction in energy use, increased cooling tower operating efficiency, and reduced maintenance effort provide cost savings as well as environmental benefit and regulatory compliance with respect to discharge of wastewater from blowdown.

Cooling towers associated with chillers for air-conditioning are good candidates for ozone application.

In cooling water applications, the most common problems encountered are scale deposition, corrosion, fouling and microbio (bacteria, algae, fungi, etc) growth. Today, there’s an even greater threat - the emergence of pathogenic bacteria like Legionella Pneumophilia (Legionnaires).

Legionnaires' disease, a type of pneumonia that kills between 5 and 15 percent of the people who contract it, typically is caught by breathing contaminated air from devices such as cooling towers, showers and faucets. Ozone has proven highly effective in combating this type of outbreak.

Ozone Equipment Selection
CCSI has well-developed specifications for the implementation of ozone-producing equipment. These criteria consider all aspects of the system. Many factors must go into the decision to use ozone as a cooling tower water treatment. Among these factors are the operating environment, operating temperature, material resistance to ozone, and condition of the make-up water. However, it is important to have an estimate of the size and cost of an ozone system before contacting us.

The size, cost, and operating conditions of the existing system should be obtained so that a comparison can be made with using ozone. If this information is not available, the inputs needed may be estimated in the Cooling Tower Worksheet, available here from CCSI. It is necessary to know the nominal rating of the cooling tower(s) under examination. Cooling tower capacity is usually expressed in terms of tons. Once the tower capacity is obtained, the system can be sized using the equations identified in the Cooling Tower Worksheet.

Once completed, you may forward the Cooling Tower Worksheet to CCSI for a free-of-charge system evaluation and recommendation.

For more information on what the Federal Government is saying about ozone in cooling towers, visit the Download section at the www.O3Forum.org Web site for an excerpted article from a recently published Federal Technology Alert (FTA), which provides detailed information and procedures that a Federal energy manager needs to evaluate most cooling tower ozone treatment applications.

Two actual case studies are presented to give the reader a sense of costs and energy savings. Current manufacturers, technology users, and references for further reading are included for prospective users who have specific or highly technical questions not fully addressed in this FTA.

Links of interest:

Federal Technology Alerts

O3 Forum Web Site

O3 Detroit Live Ozone Forum Announced
presented by D-CSI/Pure-O-Tech

Join us in the first O3Forum.org industry specific live forums on Ozone uses in the domestic preparedness, food processing, agricultural and industrial settings. By attending this unprecedented program, you will learn how Ozone Technologies are affecting your industry and how you can benefit from them.

We invite you learn more about Ozone's unique benefits and information on solutions by visiting and participating at the www.O3Forum.org Web site, which includes information on technology users, and references for further reading. The forum has been designed for prospective users who have specific or highly technical questions not fully addressed elsewhere. It is the hope of this organization to act as a clearing house for ozone facts and to provide a one-stop portal for this information.

Detroit Live Forum Agenda
Register Here for this Free Forum

Chemical
Containment
Systems Inc.

PO Box 46474
Mt. Clemens, MI 48046

Phone: 586-792-3325
Fax: 586-792-2711
Email: ccsi@comcast.net
www.chemicalcontainment.com

The Future of Ozone

Are Ozone Technologies in your future? We have developed a simple questionnaire to help you determine whether Ozone can be useful to you. From food processing to water cooling towers, Ozone is helping to sanitize and protect equipment for improved operation and safety. Complete the form and receive a free report on how Ozone will help your industry.

Click here to complete this simple form to learn more about Ozone.