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Is Ozonated Water Safe for Clean-In-Place Systems?

Ozone has been used for over one hundred years to sanitize drinking water and irrigation water.

Posted: Mar 02 2021
Ozone for Clean in Place Systems

Proper maintenance and sanitation of machinery and surfaces is a critical aspect of operating any food or beverage manufacturing business. Canadians rely on the industry to provide them with clean and safe food while the workers in these operations rely on a safe working environment. The process of sanitation can be very costly between the labour involved, the energy to heat the water, the water consumption, and chemical cleaning agents used.

Many food and beverage processors have designed and constructed their process lines with a CIP or Clean-In-Place system. CIP is a setup that provides multitude of benefits including:

The 5 most common steps to a CIP system are:

  1. Pre-rinse to reduce soil load
  2. Caustic wash with hot-water 60-85° C (140-185° F)
  3. Intermediate Rinse
  4. Final Rinse
  5. Sanitizing Rinse

Ozone has been used for over one hundred years to sanitize drinking water and irrigation water. So the question should be asked..."Is ozone safe for use in a CIP system?" The answer is "absolutely." Not only is it safe, ozone has several key advantages when introduced into the traditional CIP setup.

Unlike the Oxygen that we breathe (O2), Ozone is a powerful oxidant composed of three oxygen atoms (O3). The third oxygen atom in Ozone has a weaker bond, which breaks off and effectively destroys foreign bodies in water. Ozone can safely kill pathogens, micro-pollutants, microorganisms in addition to both organic and inorganic contaminants through oxidation. Ozone can be injected and mixed into a homogeneous solution to create ozonated water. The cleaning strength is approximately 1.5x that of chlorine and reacts 3000 times faster to destroy contaminants. Ozone is on the GRAS listing of FDA and accepted by Canadian Food Inspection Agency as a surface cleaner as well as food processing aid.

Because ozone converts very quickly back into oxygen, about 15-minute half-life in room temperature water, there are no residues in the piping or on surfaces. This means that the 5 steps noted above can often be reduced by at least one rinsing cycle, resulting in 20-60% water consumption reduction. The elimination of most or all chemical in the process and the reduced water use make this upgrade a sustainable, cost-effective method of improving sanitation procedures while reducing the labour and down-time associated with cleaning.

Contact us today to discuss your specific process. We will be happy to answer any questions and provide a proposed design for your operation!

Industries

Ozone sanitation is ideal for a number of applications where large scale pressurized washdown is possible, and non-toxic cleaning solutions are needed.

Ozone sanitation for breweries
Ozone for Breweries

The Ozone Pro™ is a stand-alone system that provides Ozone-enriched water for disinfection applications within the winery, brewery, or cidery industries. The Ozone Pro™ system is designed for ease and simplicity of installation as we provide a pre-assembled panel that is adequately equipped for turnkey Ozone production.

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Ozone sanitation for healthcare
Ozone for Healthcare

Nebula Ozone is helping to keep the public safe from contamination, as well as the residents and diverse range of healthcare workers in facilities where sanitization is more important than ever.

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Medical supplies
Ozone for Food Production

Ozone has been proven as a safe, cost-effective, and efficient method for killing micro-organisms and bacteria. Ozonated water is perfect for ‘Post Harvest Washing’ as it sterilizes the food product and eliminates the risk of microbiological contamination. Delicate fruits in particular benefit from Ozone sterilization because it does not require the vigorous washing associated with other methods.

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Medical supplies
Ozone for Water Treatment

Ozone is being increasingly adopted for drinking water and wastewater treatment because of its superb purification ability which incorporates environment-friendly features. The effectiveness of ozone for advanced water treatment has been widely proven with an extensive record of successful applications, further reinforced by the FDA and USDA’s approval of ozone applications.

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Ozone military and first responders
Ozone for Military & 1st Responders

Our military and first responders have the unique challenge of keeping their facilities safe in environments where group activities are very common. Nebula Ozone solutions can help improve the safety and wellbeing of these dedicated professionals to our country.

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For more information or to discuss ozone solutions to your sanitization needs, contact us today

We are here to support in evaluating where ozone might be a fit for you. Not ready to fill out an intake form? No problem!

Send us your contact information and what you need at this point in your process and we will be happy to help!