Pools and Ozone

[Guest guest]

Is Ozone viable for swimming pools? Recently a chemical-free public swimming

pool was installed in Fairhope, Alabama. It uses Ozone technology and avoids the

use of chlorine altogether. This is a first for public pools in North America.

The United States Navy Dolphin program has switched to Ozone technology over the

last several years. A spokesman there stated that these systems have delivered

the best water quality they have seen out of any systems they tried.

Numerous other private, public, commercial, waterpark and hotel and motel pools

have switched to Ozone technologies as people become more concerned about

chlorine and chlorinated byproducts. Other than the issue of carcinogens and

other health problems, what are the relative benefits of Ozone vs. chlorine?

One of the main problems with adopting Ozone is that there is a higher initial

capital cost to the swimming pool compared to chlorine. However, over the life

of the pool Ozone and ultraviolet technologies reduce the on-going operating and

maintenance costs. These costs can be significant. Chlorine is famous for

destroying pool infrastructures, rusting out ventilation systems and destroying

pool liners etc. Ozone poses no such problems.

The Ozone pool will be much cleaner, which means dirt, grease, oils, organics

and other materials will wind up in the filter system much faster than with

chlorinated systems. If the filter and strainer maintenance is not stepped up

accordingly, the pool recirculating system will slow down and the pool will

actually look dirtier than with Chlorine. However, proper maintenance of the

filter system will solve this problem.

Part of the problem in adopting Ozone is that engineers, architects, pool

builders and designers are not familiar with the technology. Some applications

of Ozone, particularly systems installed 10-15 years ago were plagued with

technical problems. Even though Ozone systems have been in regular use in Europe

and other areas of the world since the 1950's, pools here have generally relied

on chlorine. Since our engineering, architectural and other technical training

have all been geared to Chlorine, it takes re-education to now apply Ozone. Many

people in these industries are reluctant to " shift gears " and take the time to

educate themselves about the proper application of Ozone.

What is the difference in technologies? Chlorine is a complex man-made chemical

that found original use in the infamous " mustard gas " of the First World War.

Ozone has been in use for over 100 years, primarily in Europe and was first put

to use for water purification, odor control and in medical hospitals (it is

still being used medically today, though not commonly in North America).

Ozone is made from Oxygen or O2, which is converted through electricity to Ozone

or O3. Ozone is a much more powerful oxidant than chlorine. However, the " shelf

life " of Ozone is limited. It must be manufactured and used on-site. This is

done through Ozone Generators which convert Oxygen in the air into Ozone.

As well, Ozone is considered a " short-term " disinfectant and chlorine is

considered a " long-term " disinfectant. Chlorine is also an entrenched

technology. It has been widely used in North America and was first adopted at

the turn of the century. It is still the reigning champion of disinfection and

has many supporters in the chemical and swimming pool industries.