All these initiatives have merit but, mostly, they are a case of cutting back on consumption on a standard function. By their nature, most of them are temporary measures because growth will continue and consumption will rise again.
Where one really scores is when a totally new innovation comes about that actually alters the process permanently. For example, imagine that you have to wash towels or dishes in very hot water to kill bacteria, as is the case in a hospital. Imagine that, instead of killing the bacteria using heat, you can do so using ozone gas. Then you can wash the items in ordinary warm water, instead of piping hot water, and then treat them with ozone for the purpose of sterilisation. That will save you the electricity used for heating the really hot water, and that is permanent. Recently, I happened to meet Ian Wright, CEO of Ozone Services Industries (OSI). His company is in the business of supplying a whole range of ozone systems. That is all most interesting. Ozone is used in processes like sewage treatment and water treatment, and Wright has been installing systems in places like game lodges, hotels, hospitals, municipalities and a host of others where they have a direct water or sewage issue that needs immediate attention.
Ozone does not only act as a sterilising agent but also precipitates minerals such as iron and manganese out of contaminated water. Ozone oxidises metals like iron and manganese to remove them from solution. Chlorine can also be used to oxidise iron and manganese, but significantly more chlorine is required, compared with the ozone quantity. This is due to the fact that ozone has an oxidation potential 150% greater than that of chlorine. So, ozone can be used to clean impurities out of water as well as sterilising it.
Let me briefly explain ozone. We humans need to breathe oxygen. Our atmosphere is about 20% oxygen, and many people think that the more oxygen we have in the air, the better. Not so! Too much oxygen is poisonous to people. Too much oxygen causes rust acceleration. So, 20% is just right. Oxygen in the air is found as the oxygen molecule O2, which is two oxygen atoms combined. Two oxygen atoms together are more stable than single-oxygen atoms alone. It is like two friends with their arms wrapped around each other– the arms are occupied, compared with a single person standing with arms outstretched, waiting to grab something.
The ozone molecule is composed of three oxygen atoms – O3. This molecule is much more reactive than ordinary O2; the third oxygen atom is just waiting to start a reaction with anything it can get its hands on.
Ozone, in the gaseous or aqueous phases, is effective as a strong antimicrobial agent against most microorganisms. With its loosely bonded extra atom of oxygen, ozone is one of nature’s most powerful oxidants and disinfectants. The germicidal potential of ozone is some 3 000 times that of chlorine. As a result, ozone in small doses is poisonous to bacteria. Ozone works by penetrating the cell membrane of a microbe and destroying it.
Interestingly, ozone treatment was proven to eradicate the hazardous E.coli bacterium that recently contaminated German food, causing a national epidemic.
As far as impurities in water, such as iron and manganese, are concerned, they, too, react rapidly with ozone and then turn into chemicals that deposit out of the water.
Ozone can also be used to sterilise and purify air. It acts in a similar fashion as it does in water and removes odours and smoke as well as harmful bacteria.
OSI produces a range of products for treating air and water; these include air purification units and sewage- and water-processing plants, besides a range of other products.
I found it most interesting to talk to Wright because he was bursting with ideas. That is the sort of approach that appeals to me. Wright is supplying many systems to all sorts of customers. I even met a farmer who arrived to collect his new machine to kill bacteria on his agricultural produce after harvesting. He enthusias- tically said that he had tried one of the machines a while ago and it performed way better than specification, so he was back for another one. He had to guarantee a low bacteria count when selling his produce to a distributor, and he had found the answer. OSI even has a simple unit with which you can wash fruit with ozone-rich water to kill bacteria and so extend the shelf life of produce.
Wright spoke to me about a number of new ideas, and they all appealed to me. The ozone solution is good chemistry and physics, and that appeals to my scientific instinct. OSI is a rapidly growing company that seems poised to grow even faster. The company is keen to talk to anybody with any problem that it thinks could be dealt with using ozone treatment.
Ozone is not new – it has been around for years, but let me caution about a distinction between the really scientific use of ozone, as OSI does, and other folks who sell all sorts of home ozone therapy and suchlike. That is not the same thing. I am not supporting the ‘home ozone foot bath’ to get your feet sparkling fit by next week. There are all sorts of black magic ‘do-it-yourself’ ozone products available. They are all trading on the mystique of the word ‘ozone’ – just like the ‘detox yourself’ craze.
The real scientific application of ozone in air and water applications, I believe, will advance significantly. Ozone really works for correct scientific reasons, and is not harmful to any workers or maintenance people. Ozone systems do not need highly skilled people for general maintenance and daily operations, so they can be installed in game lodges, sports stadiums and any place that is not connected to a major municipal system to which you pay rates for the service. In the cities, air-cleaning systems in restaurants, conference venues or even hospital operating theatres can also use ozone devices.
Cunning applications of good science are always a move in the right direction, and, as they gain attention, more and more uses tend to be found for them. I am sure that there are another dozen smart ideas just waiting for an ozone solution.
