Analytical Materials

Water ozone treatment

The first pilot-industrial plant for drinking water ozone treatment was tried in 1898 in the town of Saint-More (France), and as early as in 1907, the first plant yielding ozone treatment of 22,500 m3 of water from the river Vassubie per day, to provide for Nice needs, went into operation.

In Russia, the first major plant for drinking water ozone treatment was commissioned in St. Petersburg in 1911.

By 1916 nearly 50 similar plants of different capacity had been put into operation in the world.

In the last 20 years use of ozone for water treatment has grown notably throughout the world. As experts note, up to 95% of drinking water in Europe is treated with ozone. In the USA ozone treatment is being broadly introduced into the drinking water treatment systems. Several major plants for water ozone treatment are operating in Russia (Moscow, Nizhniy Novgorod). Programs of conversion to the given technology have been adopted for several more large-scale water treatment stations.

Rapid development of the technology for water ozone treatment is presupposed by the high efficiency and ecological acceptability of the process.

Popularity of ozone treatment as one of the main techniques of water purification and disinfection is accounted for by the fact that the broadly applied alternative method of chlorination ranks below ozone treatment by many parameters, though it ensures long presence of the reagents introduced into water and, as a result, a prolonged disinfecting effect.

At the same time, a number of experts believe that the chlorination process, as well as chlorine or other halogen-containing reagents treatment feature the following inherent drawbacks:

• incomplete oxidation of organic compounds and the resulting formation and accumulation of toxic halogen derivatives;

• the need to maintain pH of the medium within a narrow range that is not favourable for humans' skin;

• presence of distinct peculiar halogen (chlorine, bromine) odour in the water and ambient air.

As to the UV irradiation technique, it is applied only with the purpose of water disinfection and is effective only when combined with other water purification methods.