Ozonators

Ozone Oxidation is a Powerful Disinfectant from Nature

Ozone (O3) is a form of oxygen that has one more oxygen atom than the atmospheric oxygen (O2) we breathe. It’s this third oxygen atom that makes the ozone molecule so unstable, which is the key to its oxidizing power. Since ozone is unstable, it has a fairly short half-life under normal conditions, so it has to be produced and supplied continuously to a disinfection process.

The unstable third oxygen atom can combine with organic and inorganic molecules to destroy or change them through oxidation. This process happens almost instantaneously. Ozone oxidizes a very large range of other substances i.e organic molecules can be viruses, bacteria, fungi, yeast, oils, organic chloramines, etc., and inorganic molecules can be dissolved metals such as iron, copper and manganese, and inorganic forms of chloramines.

On a food preparation surface, or on the food itself, Ozone targets and oxidizes organisms like Salmonella, Listeria, E. coli or any number of other dangerous microorganisms. The chemical process of ozone oxidation is relentless. It continues until the ozone is completely destroyed (actually, it is “reduced” in the process of “oxidizing” other substances). When this beneficial third unstable atom completes its oxidizing duties, it leaves behind only the familiar oxygen molecule like the ones in the air we breathe, O2.