Generating ozone with UV sterilizer

[SimilanRocks]

From the background that ozone can be generated by passing O2 to some UV light for some period of time. And some commercial ozonizers use the same technique.

So instead of buying expensive ozonizer, can we use a $50 UV sterilizer for the same job? Instread of running tank water through UV, we can put it to the skimmer air-in tube.

[AZDesertRat]

No. UV is a light source enclosed inside a quartz sleeve or glass bulb which you pass water around the outside of. Ozone is created by passing air or oxygen through a high voltage discharge in an open environment to create a corona or ozone gas which you feed into the water.
Two entirely different things.

[bertoni]

There are ozone generators that use UV instead of the corona discharge method, but the setups are very different from a tank water UV unit. The water treatment version might overhead badly if used without water, for example, and I'm not at all sure that the bulbs used could generate much ozone, in any case.

[billsreef]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12200287#post12200287 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by bertoni
The water treatment version might overhead badly if used without water,

I've seen some UV Sterilizers that have been left on without water running, it's not a pretty sight ;)

[Boomer]

UV

There are 3 different wavelengths used. One for disinfection, one for making ozone and one for destroying ozone.

The freq (light) is 200-300 nm with 253 being max peak, for germicidal UV lamps. Ozone production needs to be less than 240nm (high enery UV). In order to break up ozone you need to be in the range of 300-400 nm (low energy UV or visible light).

O2 + UV light -> 2 O

O + O2 + M -> O3 + M (where M indicates conservation of energy and momentum)

and

O3 + UV, visible light -> O + O2

or/and

O3 + X -> XO + O2 ( where X may be O, NO, OH, Br or Cl)

Or to be more exact.

Ozone production;

O2 + UV(180-240nm) = O + O

O + O2= O3


Natural ozone breakdown:

O3 + UV(300-400nm) = O2 + O

O + O3= O2 + O2

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I discuss ozone generators and other issues relating to ozone in these articles:

Ozone and the Reef Aquarium, Part 1: Chemistry and Biochemistry
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-03/rhf/index.php

Ozone and the Reef Aquarium, Part 2: Equipment and Safety
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-04/rhf/index.php

Ozone and the Reef Aquarium, Part 3: Changes in a Reef Aquarium upon Initiating Ozone
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-05/rhf/index.php