May 2021 – Ozone and Air Purification

Ozone can be used to clean and disinfect room air, but it can also occur as an unwanted by-product.

The topics of aerosols, air quality and pollutants are more acute than ever. At the same time, we are receiving more and more inquiries about our ozone monitoring instruments, which are to be used in the context of air purification, be it for removing pollutants and odors or for disinfection and virus inactivation. For ozone is no longer only relevant on hot summer days, when the urban sky is discolored by summer smog. It can also become a problem indoors.

The German Umweltbundesamt (Federal Environment Agency) published an informative article on infectious aerosols in indoor spaces in March 2021: Link (German)

The technologies applied in air purifiers can therefore be described with four basic processes: filter technology, UV-C technology, plasma or ionization treatment and ozone technologies.
Ozone (O₃) plays a major role in both of the latter technologies. While the connection with ozone technologies is already obvious by name, namely that ozone generators are used for the targeted treatment and disinfection of room air, it is not immediately apparent with ionization and plasma technologies. However, when they are used, ozone can occur as an undesirable by-product, trigger a chemical reaction with other substances and thus create additional pollutants such as formaldehyde (Link, German).

Even slightly increased ozone concentrations in the room air can cause a noticeable pungent odor and also irritate the respiratory tract or cause headaches. In indoor areas in particular, it must be ensured that no potentially harmful amounts of ozone are released into the room air. Continuous monitoring of the ozone levels is therefore urgently recommended.

All our versatile ozone monitors at a glance: Link