Coronavirus, COVID-19 and Ozone Treatment

Amid the impacts of the corona virus and COVID-19, we want to take this opportunity to inform about ozone, its disinfectant properties and how it can be used to help in this cause.

Some viruses are airborne, and most viruses tend to stick to surfaces such door handles or even utensils. Most viruses can be killed, or de-activated, by disinfectants and ozone happen to be the strongest disinfectant there is.

Disinfection of air as well as hard-to-reach surfaces by ozone is pretty straightforward and smooth. Ozone, already gaseous at ambient conditions, will simply mix with the ambient air, or can be injected into the supply air stream and from there easily distributed to wherever needed.

The level of disinfection is totally dependent on the applied CT value which is the concentration of ozone multiplied by the exposure time. The disinfection efficiency depends further on the type of virus that is treated, but a 90% reduction can be expected at 0.6 ppm ozone concentration during an exposure time of 20 to 120 minutes, depending on the air volume and make-up of the room.

Increasing the ozone concentration considerably reduces consequently the required exposure time as well as increasing the deactivation/mortality-rate of the virus.

The 8-hour limit value for ozone exposure for humans in a working place is generally to 0.1 ppm and is regulated by the local authorities. Therefore, no entry to the treatment area shall be allowed during a disinfection cycle. Afterwards, one must also ensure that all excess ozone is ventilated out/away before reentering to the room.