Bantigue St.

, Luyang, Carmen,
Cebu, Philippines 6005
+63 9171627268 - info@babs.com.ph
TIN: 200-042-926-000V

OZONE FOR BOTTLING APPLICATIONS

INTRODUCTION
Over the last decades there has been an increasing demand for water in bottles, cans, etc..
This demand or trend, has drawn manufacturers' attention to the necessity for specialised
filling techniques. One particular problem that plagues the bottled water industry is the
microbial quality of the bottled products. In the more recent past, public attention has been
drawn by various articles referring to this growing problem that affects well known and
lesser known bottled water companies alike.

Use of ozone when bottling water

Cleanliness is an important factor to enhance product quality. In the past, bottling water
plants have relied on high hygiene levels in conjunction with chlorine or chlorine based
products for sanitation. Nowadays, more and more bottling companies are relying on the
use of ozone to meet the ever increasing legislative and consumer demands. There are 2
possibilities to use ozone when bottling drinking water:

• Ozonation of the washing water used to clean the bottles prior to filling
• Ozonation of the actual product water

Product ozonation
Fortunately, for ozone generator manufacturers and bottling companies, there is a second
possibility that guarantees a very high product quality, that is the ozonation of the product
water.

Experience has indicated that a small dose of ozone, in the region of 0.3 mg/1 to 0.5 mg/l,
is sufficient to sanitise the product and the product packaging. After filling the ozonated
product, the crated or palleted bottles are placed on stock for a few days in order to allow
the ozone to decompose. After this period, the ozone will have oxidised the organic
substances in the product water, the microbial activity will have been reduced to a minimum
(or even sterility) and the remaining unreacted ozone will have decayed to form diatomic
oxygen.

Ozonation of the product has the added advantage for the operator that he does not have
to modify his bottle washing equipment - in fact, bottling companies could even omit the
disinfectant in the rinse water when filling unflavoured beverages.
Ozone decomposition
When ozone is produced it will decay rapidly, because ozone is an instable compound with
a relatively short half-life. The half-life of ozone in water is a lot shorter than in air. Ozone
decays in water under drinking water conditions (pH: 6-8,5). Dependent on the quality of the
water, the half-life of ozone is in the range of seconds to hours. Factors influencing the
decomposition of ozone in water are temperature, pH, environment and concentrations of
dissolved matter and UV light.

Influence factors

1. Temperature
Temperature has an important influence on the half-life of ozone. Table 1 shows the half-life
of ozone in air and water. In water the half-life of ozone is much shorter than in air, in other
words ozone decomposes faster in water. The solubility of ozone decreases at higher
temperatures and is less stable. On the other hand, the reaction speed increases with a
factor 2 or 3 per 10 °C. Principally, ozone dissolved in water cannot be applied when
temperatures are above 40 °C, because at this temperature the half-life of ozone is very
short.
Table 1: half-life of ozone in gas and water at different temperatures

Air
Dissolved in water (pH 7)
Temp (°C) Half live
Temp (°C) Half live
-50 3 months
15 30 min
-35 18 days
20 20 min
-25 8 days
25 15 min
20 3 days
30 12 min
120 1,5 hours
35 8 min
250 1,5 seconds

2. pH
Ozone decomposes partly in OH-radicals. When the pH value increases, the formation of
OH-radicals increases. In a solution with a high pH value, there are more hydroxide ions
present. These hydroxide ions act as an initiator for the decay of ozone:
3. Dissolved solids concentration
Dissolved ozone can react with a variety of matter, such as organic compounds, viruses,
bacteria, etc. As a result, ozone decomposes to other matter and illustrates that the half-life
of ozone in distilled water is much shorter, compared to tap-water.
4. Carbonate and bicarbonate
Scavengers slow down the chain-reaction. Carbonate is a scavenger with a strong effect.
The addition of carbonate (CO32-) can increase the half-life of ozone.

5. Natural Organic Material

Natural organic material (NOM) exists in every kind of natural water and is often measured
as dissolved organic carbon (DOC). NOM reduces the quality of the water with regard to
color and odor. Ozone can be used in water treatment for the reduction of the concentration
of NOM.

PROPOSAL
Ozone has a half-life of 20 minutes in water depending therefore leaving no residual kill of
pathogens in the water after this time and another disinfectant must be added.

With consideration to the factors affecting the ozonation of water, it is of vital importance to
ensure always the presence of ozone in the product water regardless of any external
conditions. This can be realized by implementing within the filling process a fail safe
procedure to drain product water exceeding the decompositon time of ozone. This is
particularly relevant in sudden long stops of the filler machine.

Details:
• Establish a “ready” signal from the ozonator, which means no fault and alarm.

• Filler will check this “ready” signal and if the Ozonator is not “ready”, preform stopper
will close. If this will take longer than “X” minutes (time to be advised by the customer),
Filler will automatically drain the filler bowl.

• If preform stopper is closed, Filler have no more bottles inside, bowl level is higher
than 1% and time counter will start.

• Once Ozonator is “ready” again, Filler will fill up bowl to setpoint and production will
start. Filler will send signal “Product request” to Ozonator, when product regulating
valve will open.

• Modification of Filler PLC program.

• Modification of the HMI visualization

Several customers have introduced this procedure already in their respective plants.

CONCLUSION
With the proposed improvement, continual process of ozone treatment is achieved. This
results in a product that is better in quality with regard to taste and odour and is actually
healthier for the consumer.