About Ozone

What is Ozone?

Ozone is nature’s disinfectant. Whereas oxygen is composed of two oxygen atoms, Ozone is composed of three (O3). It is created two ways. When the sun’s ultraviolet rays meet the oxygen already present in the Earth’s air, it creates the protective ozone layer. The second and more common way ozone is produced is when lightning strikes the oxygen in the air converting oxygen to ozone. Ozone is detectable by the fresh, clean scent you find after a rainstorm or snowfall, and is essentially the driving component of fresh, clean air. Ozone is the most powerful oxidizer known to mankind and is the primary water purifier alternative to traditional chemicals such as chlorine. Ozone, like oxygen, is a natural and chemical-free compound that kills 3000x faster than chlorine.

Why is Ozone so Effective?

Ozone works on odors, chemicals, allergens, bacteria, viruses, and other compounds through oxidation – similar to the effect that rust has on steel, but a much quicker and more complete reaction. Inactivation of bacteria, viruses, fungi, yeast and protozoa occurs by Ozone disrupting the integrity of the cell walls through oxidation of the phospholipids and lipoproteins. In fungi, ozone inhibits cell growth at certain stages. With viruses, the ozone damages the viral capsid (protective coating) and upsets the reproductive cycle by disrupting the virus-to-cell contact with peroxidation. Think of Ozone as a ‘super-oxygen’ – at high enough levels even Oxygen is toxic, Ozone is an unstable molecule and it easily transfers electrons to other molecules – destroying or converting those molecules to harmless substances.

What Happens to Ozone?

The Ozone produced by the AOS process completely reverts to normal oxygen (O2) as soon as our generators are turned off. When ozone production ends, it is converted in a logarithmic scale, decreasing by ½ of its original concentration every 20 -30 minutes until it is converted back to oxygen. For instance, if saturation levels reach 100 ppm, the decrease will go to 50, 25, 12, 6, 3, until it reaches ambient levels – usually within only 2 hours. It is entirely safe to reenter and occupy the space that has been treated and will degrade even faster with ventilation. Therefore, the AOS process is completely green – leaving behind no residue and no contaminants, just healthy, clean, and purified air.