I'd like to clear up some possible misconceptions about ozone use in laundry because there are some unscrupulous salespeople out there who claim that ozone is a substitute for detergent. As I'm sure all of you know, O3 is an unstable form of oxygen, and it oxidizes certain things it comes in contact with by adding an oxygen molecule to it. When oxygen is added to water it tends to convert H2O to H2O2, or hydrogen peroxide, a bleach. Thus adding ozone is similar in effect to adding H2O2, which effectively bleaches the laundry, and also sterilizes it.
Again, I am probably rehashing things you know, but bleaches come in two classes, oxidizing bleaches such as Chlorine, H2O2, and Sodium perborate (sold at the supermarket as Chlorox, Liquid Chlorox 2, and powdered Chlorox 2), and reducing bleaches which remove oxygen molecules (not sold in supermarkets). Bleaches do not remove stains, they simply react chemically with them to make them invisible, and yes, they can occasionally reappear at a later time. Detergent, on the other hand, is designed to remove the stain itself. The two actions work quite well together, but are not substitutes for one another. In traditional laundry, as much soil as possible is normally removed first through the use of detergents, and then bleach is added. In ozone laundry the bleach is added continuously in the form of ozone, normally resulting in more bleaching action than is typical. Some operators choose to accept this in lieu of actually removing the stains, but I'm not convinced that it is a good idea.
In actual practice, ozone has found good application in hospital laundries where garments need to be sterilized because ozone is much cheaper than hot water at 160 degrees. Furthermore, oxygen based bleaching, such as ozone, is particularly effective on blood. Ozone washing has not found much use in heavy soil areas, however, such as industrial laundry, uniforms, and so forth.
In operating a laundry that uses ozone there are some safety issues which must be addressed. The ozone tends to "leak" out of the water and into the air. If you can smell it (it smells like the clean, fresh air following a thunderstorm, which is in fact, ozone), then the exposure level may be too high for the safety of workers. This isn't to say that it can't be done, just that it is an issue.
As an interesting side note, some ozone equipment makers have recently introduced an alternative, nitrous oxide (yes, the stuff your dentist uses). This has the same chemical effect in water as ozone, but frankly, I don't see the point.
So, if the question is, "can ozone in water kill germs?", then the answer is quite clearly, yes it can. If the question is "can ozone help reduce wash temperatures", I would again answer yes. However if the question is, "can it replace detergent" my answer is more qualified, that is, I wouldn't do it.
As for what market share OZON has in the market, I really can't say. I am aware that there are multiple manufacturers out there, and I don't know who, if anyone, is the market leader.
Carl |
