Ice-makers

The manufacturing of sterilized ice with ozone can be used in a number of different applications, such as bottling plants, hospitals, hotels, fish farms, the conservation of fresh fish, and so on.

Ozone is the quickest-acting oxidant for disinfection and allows for excellent microbiological control. As an oxidant, it is second only to fluorine.

Due to its great destructive capacity (oxidation) and to the rapidity with which its third atom is disintegrated into oxygen, the use of ozone is absolutely safe. It yields optimum results which are infinitely more reliable than those obtained with other chemical agents.

It is clear that O3 is very fast and effective in its performance. What’s more, it is odourless, insipid and no health-endangering side effects are known.

Low water temperatures favour its germicidal performance, since the higher the temperature is, the faster the ozone is dissolved.

Ozone’s instability – something which could at first seem a disadvantage as it makes it difficult to bottle, and makes it necessary for it to be produced in situ – is really one of its top virtues. Indeed, after oxidization it is transformed into oxygen and disappears without a trace. This makes ozone a priceless tool for hygienic-sanitary control. On the other hand, as it can be used non-stop, the process is simplified, cutting labour and handling costs, and reducing the need for transport and storage of toxic or dangerous agents.

Ozone is produced when the oxygen molecules of the feeding gas are exposed to an electrical corona discharge, controlled within the ozone generator.

If ozone is used appropriately, the benefits reaped include:

Longer-lasting food preservation, as well as perfect hygiene in both cold storage rooms and the product stored, due to ozone’s power as a disinfectant, deodorant and killer of bacteria, viruses and germs (O3-oxygen composed of three molecules).

Hygiene problems occur because of the difficulty in preventing bacteriological activity in ordinary ice. By ozonating the water used in ice manufacturing, bacteria is eliminated as the ice melts, meaning that preservation carries on, thus maintaining microbes at a minimum or even eliminating them completely. Because of this absence of microorganisms, conservation periods can be increased by up to 33%.

Ozone is effective just a few seconds after its application, preventing bacterial decomposition by destroying it.

If water is ozonated at levels that can provide a residual of dissolved ozone in water, the ice will contain residual ozone. This ozone will be available when the ice melts, so the product remains disinfected..