Ozone

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Ozone (03) is a chemical compound, which is formed of three oxygen atoms. Unlike the oxygen molecule, which is a relatively stable, the ozone molecule is a very unstable compound.

Ozone molecules are created and destroyed constantly in the atmosphere via natural photochemical processes (UV light from the sun), and are naturally found in small amounts at all altitudes.

Ozone generators have been used for over a hundred years for purification and sanitation purposes in a wide variety of industrial and medical applications. It's properties as a bactericide, viricide, fungicide, and deodorizer are well accepted by the scientific community.

Creating Ozone

In the nature the ozone molecule can be born in several ways, but in high atmosphere it usually is a result of a simple two staged photochemical reaction, which is similar to what happens in the BioZone air purifiers.

The Purifying Effect of Ozone

The ozone molecule is a very reactive molecule. This means that the Ozone molecule will break up when it reacts with other molecules. In the same process, the molecule that ozone has reacted with will also break up and change chemical composition, which explains the purification effect of the ozone. In the example up to the right ozone has reacted with and spli up a highly unwanted molecule, UREA, into much more harmless molecules such as Carbon Dioxide, Nitrogen (-78% of the atmosphere) and Water.

Stating the Amount of Ozone

The amount of Ozone a Biozone device produces can be given in two ways;Ozone concentration and Ozone production rate. The difference between these two must be understood.

Concentration

1. PPM

ppm = parts per million: This unit tells us how many ozone molecules there are in a one million air moletcules. 2.5 ppm ozone would mean that in every 1,000,000 air molecules there are 2.5 ozone molecules (or 5 ozone molecules in 2,000,000 air molecules)

2. MICROGRAMMES PER CUBIC METER

pg/ m3 = microgram per cubic meter: This unit tells us the mass of the ozone per one cubic meter.
1 m3 = A box (volume) that is 1 m * 1 m * 1 m big.

In one cubic meter of air, there is under normal circumstances 273 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 00 molecules.

This means that 2.5ppm is equal to 684 000 000 000 000 000 000 molecules of ozone.

Ozone Production Rate

With the Biozone devices it is also important to know the ozone production rate that is usually defined as pg/h (microgram per hour). This unit tells us simply how many micrograms of ozone the device produces in one hour.

Conversions

There is no real sientific conversion factos from PPM to pg/m3 as gas molecules such as Ozone will behave differently within different temperature and pressure conditions. For this reason the term "NTP" has been created. NTP stands for "Normal Temperature and Pressure" and states a reference on when the conversion can be made.

NTP:
Pressure: 1 Atmosphere = 101,3 kPa (Kilo Pascal)
Temperature: 25°C = 77°F


When NTP conditions apply the conversion can be done as follows:

1 ppm = 2141 pg/m3 (Ozone) => 1 g/m3 = 467 ppm