I recently listened to a great podcast on the benefits and necessity of maintenance. This was done by the authors of the book Freakonomics, I enjoy their work.
In Praise of Maintenance
We often forgo maintenance of older equipment in lieu of new equipment. I am a believer in maintenance and repairs of equipment and infrastructure rather than always replacing. However, I am not excellent at articulating the why. This quick podcast, or you can read the text version, gives great explanations, good for a quick read.
Today I found a story about a pen that produces ozone to purify water in small volumes for travelers, campers, or people in countries with poor water quality.
I have not seen this pen myself, and certainly have no valid test data, therefore I cannot testify to the effectiveness to actually produce sufficient ozone to purify water. However, this is a fascinating product and proves the use of ozone for water treatment continues to become more mainstream.
From article:
The concept of using ozone to treat drinking water isn’t a new one, dating back to the late 1800s. The US EPA’s Drinking Water Treatability Database identifies ozone as “one of the strongest disinfectants and oxidants available in drinking water treatment,” and the US Food and Drug Administration recognizes ozone’s use for both water and food.
Ozone has tended to be used for larger applications, such as municipal drinking water systems and household purification. Roving Blue specializes in portable systems, including the MVP-A carry case kit and the all-new O-Pen, possibly the most portable ozone-based purifier out there. The Wisconsin-based company says the stainless steel pen is TSA-approved and markets it at world travellers, hikers and outdoor enthusiasts.
The O-Pen weighs just over an ounce (30 g) and purifies 16 oz (0.5L) of water in less than a minute. You simply drop the tip into the water, turn it on and let it do its thing. It bubbles while in use, providing a visual cue that clean water is on the way. In addition to taking care of all sizes of dangerous microorganisms, from tiny viruses to larger bacteria and protozoa, the O-Pen removes unpleasant tastes and odors, leaving a clean, fresh taste, one of the advantages that ozone offers over other treatment options, such as chlorine.
The ozone pen is easy to recharge on the go, with USB charger.Ozone pen bubbles ozone gas into water. The bottom of the pen lays in the water to bubble ozone into the water while operating.Very small bubbles created from the ozone pen.
While there are many ozone generators on the market that are small, low cost, and compact. This Ozone pen appears to be a very portable device that could work anywhere. This is certainly worth a look.
The use of ozone to treat water is not new. Ozone is used for treating drinking water, wastewater, and provide water re-use. The use of ozone is not well known. As the use of ozone gets in the hand of more consumers the use of ozone will become more accepted in more industrial applications also.
There have recently been some safety regulation updates from OSHA when it comes to Ozone. Below is the information on the old guidelines, new guidelines, and information on being compliant with the new guidelines.
OLD GUIDELINES
The old OSHA guidelines were based on the permissible level of exposure to a specific amount of ozone based on different intervals of time and the type of work (example: 0.08 ppm for 8 hours per day exposure doing moderate work, and 0.05ppm for 8 hours per day exposure doing heavy work), however, this is not the case anymore.
NEW GUIDELINES
The current OSHA Permissible Exposure Limit (PEL) for an 8 hour work day (of a 40 hour work week), is 0.1 ppm time weighted average (TWA) of ozone.
It’s our understanding that in order to be in compliance with the new OSHA regulations (see 29 CFR 1910.1000), implementation of something (monitor or control device) to ensure ozone exposure to employees does not exceed the 0.1ppm TWA during the 8 hour work shift.
NEW GUIDELINES EXPLAINED/EXAMPLE Below is the calculation that can be used for the cumulative exposure for the 8 hour work shift:
(Ca Ta+Cb Tb+. . .Cn Tn)÷8 = E E is the equivalent exposure for the working shift. (Ozone = 0.1 ppm) C is the concentration during any period of time (T) where the concentration remains constant. T is the duration in hours of the exposure at the concentration C.
For example ([0.5ppm x 1 hour] + [0.02 x 2 hours] + [0.052ppm x 5 hours]) ÷ 8 = 0.1 ppm
Ozone levels can be higher than the 0.1ppm standard for a short period of time as long as low levels at other times of the day still equal out to 0.1ppm of ozone over the 8 hour shift.
For example (0.1 all day): (0.1ppm x 8 hour) ÷ 8 = 0.1
When using this calculation the value of E should never exceed 0.1 ppm of ozone in an 8 hour work shift.
WORK PLACE REQUIREMENTS for OSHA
If monitoring equipment is not in place, then protective equipment or other means must be taken to ensure that the permissible exposure limit of 0.1 ppm ozone TWA in an 8 hour work day is meet. Another OSHA standard is any workers exposed to ozone have the right to know that they are exposed to ozone and the given exposure amount, and informed of the hazards/risks of ozone, as well as given protective measures.
In order to ensure being compliant, we would recommend use of a Ozone Monitoring/Detection Device that is connected to an alarm that triggers when ozone levels exceed the 0.1 ppm limit. That way you can monitor the length of time ozone levels are above the permissible limits and use the calculation give above to ensure the time weighted average does not exceed 0.1 ppm.
Ozone Monitors that are offered by Oxidation Technologies
For more information on ozone safety can be found on our website.
It’s been a wet year here in the Midwest. Wet years are great for crop yields however, the moisture also causes higher levels of mold in the fields. Certain strains of mold leave by-products called mycotoxins, like aflatoxin and vomitoxin. These toxins cause health issues in livestock and humans if this grain is consumed as food stock. Therefore, the mycotoxins must be reduced, and removed if possible.
Wet year causes high levels of mycotoxins in harvested grains
Ozone is a potential solution to reduce or remove mycotoxins from grains. The use of ozone gas in a grain bin, silo, or other storage method may prevent or remove mycotoxins from your grain.
Ozone gas is produced via an ozone generation system. This ozone gas is pumped into the grain bin and diluted with existing air flow to treat the grain. Ozone treatment may be necessary over the course of days or even weeks depending upon your specific application. Ozone equipment is available in trailers that can be set near the grain bin for the duration of the required ozone treatment.
Ozone monitors can measure, and verify ozone levels leaving the grain bin to ensure ozone gas has passed through the entire grain bin and a residual of ozone is present. This will verify operation of the system.
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Why buy new when used will do?
Looking for a used oxygen generator? We recently received a few great used oxygen generators that are ready for sale. Units from the very small to the very large are currently available.
