Ozone generators have become a popular household appliance in recent years. But what are ozone generators and what do they do? There are a few key components that go into making a UV ozone generator work properly. In this blog post, we’ll take a look at each of these components and explain why they’re important. Keep reading to learn more!

Components of UV Ozone Generator

Ozone can be produced from UV lamp with a wavelength of 185 nm. The UV lamp is normally placed in a chamber with a quartz tube protecting the lamp, so gas can pass past it directly or indirectly. The UV lamp passes air or oxygen through a UV light that results in ozone being created by photolysis.

Generators that produce ozone using UV light are relatively simple. They only require the following components:

     -185 nm UV lamp

     -Ballast or transformer to power lamp

     -Fan or air pump to move air through the generator

However, there are some other vital components that you must know about. These are illustrated below.

Feed-gas

When oxygen is used instead of air, there is not a significant improvement in the efficiency of ozone production because of the relatively low electrical efficiency of the lamp and low photolysis efficiency of oxygen to ozone. When UV light is used to produce ozone, the air is almost always used.

There is not a dramatic difference in air quality between UV Ozone Generators and Corona discharge Ozone Generators in the amount of ozone produced, but there will always be a relationship between these two components. Clean, dry air is ideal for ozone production. Impurities in the air and humidity will absorb UV light that should be used for ozone production. As a consequence, production of ozone is more effective in the presence of clean, dry air. 

You can also read our blog post on “Influence Of Feed Gas Flow Rates On Ozone Concentration And Ozone Output“.

Ozone Concentration

There are many wavelengths of UV light produced by UV lamps. While a 185 nm lamp will produce the most UV light below 240 nm, there are still some wavelengths produced in the range of 240 – 280 nm. This makes it impossible for traditional low pressure UV lamps to produce high concentrations of ozone.  Low pressure UV lamps typically produce ozone concentrations of 0.5 to 1% when used with air and 1% when used with oxygen.

Ozone solubility is very poor at low ozone concentrations, making these concentrations insufficient for most water treatment applications. 

VUV lamps

A vacuum ultraviolet lamp (VUV) can generate UV light in the range of 100-200 nm. Sometimes these lamps are called “tunable” UV lamps because they can be adjusted to produce a particular wavelength. UV lamps emit a wide spectrum of UV light, which can produce ozone to be created and destroyed. A VUV lamp can eliminate these issues. Ozone has been made with VUV lamps under research, and some (very limited) implementations have actually been made in commercial applications. With the use of a UV lamp, there is hope for production of high concentrations of ozone from oxygen. 

Advantages of UV Ozone Generator

     -Simple Construction – only a UV lamp with ballast and a fan

     -Lower nitric oxide production

     -Low cost – due to simple construction

Disadvantages of UV Ozone Generator

     -Low ozone concentration – less than 1% by weight

     -Low ozone output – g/hr

     -Bulbs and ballasts will need to be replaced

Bottom Line

We hope this article has helped you understand the different components of UV ozone generator and how they work together to produce ozone. If you have any questions or would like more information, please don’t hesitate to contact us.