Purification

Advanced Designs

Purifico specializes in integrating cutting-edge ozone technology to purify water by efficiently breaking down pollutants like pesticides and organic matter. Ozone’s unique properties allow it to oxidize contaminants directly and through the formation of hydroxyl radicals (OH-), making it ideal for eliminating hard-to-remove non-living pollutants. Join the many municipalities and industries across the world that are using ozone-related technologies to purify their water supply.

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O3 Purification

Ozone (O₃) is a powerful oxidant that has been used to clean water for over 100 years. Ozone is a powerful disinfectant, but it is also an excellent tool for purification of water that is chemically contaminated. Ozone reacts directly with various organic and inorganic compounds, leading to their dissociation and removal from water. Ozone also purifies water indirectly, by producing oxidants such as OH^– which share similar properties.

OH- Purification

Hydroxyls (OH–) are formed naturally through the degradation of ozone. Hydroxyls are even stronger oxidants (E° = 2.80 V) and more reactive than ozone. Like ozone, there are no harmful residues left behind, just oxygen. Hydroxyls are less selective than ozone, meaning they react with a greater number of potential targets. In terms of their direct effects on pollutants, OH– is able to breakdown chemical contaminants faster and more completely than ozone. Even though they are powerful oxidizers and are excellent for water purification, research suggests that OH– does not contribute significantly to disinfection.

In the context of agricultural water, hydroxyls help to eliminate chemical contaminants not easily removed by filtration such as pesticides, pharmaceuticals, humic acids or other organic matter. Cleaning efficacy can be improved by increasing OH^– concentrations beyond what is produced through natural breakdown of ozone. This strategy is referred to as an AOP (Advanced Oxidation Process) system and is widely used in the drinking and wastewater industries. AOP systems typically work by accelerating the breakdown of O₃ using reagents or catalysts such as UV, hydrogen peroxide, or titanium dioxide.

Disinfection vs. Purification

Ozone is a powerful oxidizer with potent cleaning and disinfecting capabilities, whereas hydroxyl radicals are even better for removing pollutants but are ineffective against microorganisms. To achieve both goals, water treatment systems can be designed to deliver an appropriate balance of hydroxyls (for purification) and ozone (for disinfection). Ozone systems providing disinfection inevitably also provide considerable breakdown of chemical contaminants; ozone systems usually exceed the purification needs of agricultural producers, but AOP systems may be helpful for heavily polluted water sources.

AOPs (Advanced Oxidation Process)

Advanced Oxidation Processes (AOPs) represents a new class of water treatment systems that uses reactive oxygen species (ROS) to remove chemical or organic pollutants, and to destroy microorganisms. The main chemicals produced are oxygen, ozone (O₃), hydroxyls (OH^–), hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂), and superoxide radicals (O₂^–). AOP systems are used for two purposes, 1) to disinfect and 2) to purify water.

Ozone (O₃) is the best disinfectant, but hydroxyls (OH^–) are more effective for removing pollutants (organic or inorganic). In other words, ozone is the best weapon to kill pathogens, but hydroxyls are more effective to breakdown and remove things like pesticides or organic matter. When ozone breaks down it forms hydroxyls as a by-product. Our AOP systems work by speeding this reaction up to produce higher concentrations of hydroxyls (OH^–) and enhance cleaning power. Our AOP systems go hand-in-hand with disinfection, since a single ozone generator can supply gas for the AOP system as well as direct ozone injection.

Improving Efficacy of Your Sanitation

Cleaning your water upstream of the disinfection system is a good idea. By removing the non-microbial contaminants from solution, your sanitizing agents (e.g. ozone) will be more effective since there are fewer targets for the ozone to react with. Purifico has a line of filtration and AOP products that can be incorporated to purify your water and enhance pathogen removal.

Purification

O3 Purification

OH- Purification

Disinfection vs. Purification

AOPs (Advanced Oxidation Process)

Improving Efficacy of Your Sanitation

Factors affecting Efficacy

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