Ozonization

This article Reprinted from The Official Journal of ISPE

describes the PHARMACEUTICAL ENGINEERING® January/February 2005, Vol. 25 No. 1

suitability of

Ozonization of Purified Water Systems

ozone for the
protection of
purified water
systems against by Dr. Samuel Stucki, Dirk Schulze, Dieter Schuster,
microbiological and Christian Stark
contamination.
It also describes
the process of Purified Water Requires water treatment system; it also can occur in the
electrolytical

T
Good Protection distribution system, the storage tanks, and the
ozone he use of drinking water as make-up to fittings.
generation, as purified water is mandated by the FDA. In acute cases, disinfection with chemical
Pretreatment and treatment steps for agents is generally only partially successful
well as an ozone US purified processing are well known since the microorganisms in a biofilm are ex-
application with and accepted. Various methods can be used to tremely resistant to the commonly used con-
the aid of an avoid quality degradation during storage and centrations of chemicals like peracetic acid,
example from distribution of the purified water - Table A. hypochlorite, or hydrogen peroxide, particu-
Passive disinfection measures demand in- larly since these are applied only for a limited
the tervention in the production process and thus time. In contrast, experience has shown that
pharmaceutical interrupt the output of purified water. After- the regular use of ozone results after only a few
industry. wards, the chemicals have to be flushed out of applications in the decomposition of the biofilm,
the system before production can be resumed. and thus considerably improves the microbio-
The effects of the disinfection process also should logical situation in a water treatment system.
be measured by increased monitoring and For this reason, ozone is equally suitable for
should be observed closely. use in newly installed systems and for the
Active disinfection measures are deliber- sanitation of existing water systems.
ately planned into the water treatment system
and can be executed as a routine action. Their The Effects of Ozone
objective is to ensure a long-term reduction of Ozone (O3) was discovered in 1840 by Christian
microbial growth to suitably low levels. Friedrich Schönbein as a by-product of the
Active disinfection measures can contribute oxygen (O2) generated at the anode during
considerably to the avoidance of the dreaded electrolysis of sulphuric acid.1 Ozone is an allo-
biofouling in water systems. Biofouling is de- tropic version of oxygen with three atoms, and is,
fined, in the most general sense, as a change of after fluorine, the second most powerful oxidant
the surface quality, i.e., the formation of a and disinfectant which can be used technically.
biofilm. It is caused by the accumulation (de- It is a gas with an oxidation potential of 2.07 eV
posit and growth) of bacteria, fungi, and other and is up to 20 times more effective than chlo-
organisms. This is not restricted to the actual rine. It has been used successfully for
more than 100 years for the treat-
Table A. Methods to
Passive Disinfection Measures • Sterilization with steam ment of drinking water and in-
avoid quality degradation
• Sanitization with hot water dustrial water. Ozone is an envi-
during storage and • Disinfection with chemicals such as:
distribution of purified - hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) ronmentally benign gas which can
water. - eau de Javel (NaOCl) be produced in the required quan-
- ozone (O3)* tities close to the point of use and
- peracetic acid
quickly breaks down into normal
Active Disinfection Measures • Continuous addition of chemicals oxygen. In contrast to most other
(such as chlorine) oxidants and disinfectants, ozone
• Hot or cold storage and distribution
• UV irradiation generates no undesirable or toxic
• Sterile filtration by-products.
• Ozonization* The effectiveness of ozone re-
* Ozone acts as both active (meanwhile production) and passive (demanding sults from its powerful oxidizing
an interruption) measure. effect on chemicals and microor-

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Ozonization
not catalyze the formation of O2. Lead dioxide (PbO2) is one of
the few suitable electrode materials with a high oxygen
overpotential which can be used as an anode to generate
ozone at room temperatures in the presence of suitable
electrolytes (such as sulphuric acid or phosphate buffer
solutions).4 However, in these electrolyte solutions the corro-
sion resistance of PbO2 is insufficient for practical use. The
lifetime of the anodes is too short and the loss of lead into the
electrolyte can have unfavorable effects (contamination, de-
posits of lead on the cathode). In the past, the technical
applications of electrochemical ozone generators failed pri-
marily due to the low stability of the anodes.5 In addition, the
efficiency of such cells for the generation of ozone is consider-
ably lower than that of ozone generators which operate on the
principle of a corona discharge in air or oxygen.
In 1985, Stucki et al. showed that lead-dioxide anodes
used for ozone generation could have an unexpectedly high
resistance to corrosion and could carry high currents if they
are integrated into cells using a proton-conducting mem-
brane as the electrolyte and are operated in purified water.
This type of electrochemical cell is today called a Proton
Figure 1. The microbial effects of ozone in water.8 Exchange Membrane (PEM) cell. A typical feature of such a
PEM cell is the very small distance (100 to 200 µm) between
ganisms – which is caused by the OH- share – in the water.
its anode and its cathode. It is thus possible to construct cells
The exposure time necessary for the elimination of microor-
with a low electrical resistance through which high currents
ganisms depends on their type and the ozone concentration.
can be passed. The greatly reduced electrochemical corrosion
Ozone directly attacks the surfaces of the microorganisms
of the electrodes in such cells has already been mentioned and
and destroys their cell walls. The cells thus lose their cyto-
was an important criterion for the successful introduction of
plasm and can no longer reactivate themselves.
this technology. Although they are so close together, the
A very low ozone concentration of less than 0.02 mg/l is
electrodes are separated by the gas-tight polymer membrane
sufficient for the disinfection of ultrapure water. This applies
and thus permit electrochemical reactions which generate or
especially to the use of modern membrane and EDI devices
consume gases. PEM were first described by General Electric
and has been proven in practice.2
Ozone is metastable and decomposes in ultrapure water
with a half-life of about 20 minutes. Since re-infection of
distribution systems for ultrapure water can occur at any
time, the disinfectant used for combating such infections
must spread through the entire system and also provide
protection in the distribution network. Figure 1 shows the
microbicidal effects of ozone on various microorganisms as a
function of the application time and the concentration.
Table B lists many different sterilization and disinfection
methods, together with the related problems for the treat-
ment of purified water. Compared with the conventional
disinfectants, ozone has the advantage that it not only elimi-
nates the microorganisms, but also provides safe and con-
tinuous protection for the storage tanks and distribution
systems. For this special application area, the ozone is best
generated with the aid of an electrolytical process, which is
described below.

Electrolytically Generated Ozone in the

Purified Water Loop
Ozone can be generated at anodes with a high electrochemi-
Figure 2. The porous electrodes ensure that the water can reach
cal overpotential. This can be achieved with the aid of very the active surface and that the gases resulting from the reaction
low temperatures (values of -20° to -60°C are mentioned in are removed. The gas-tight, proton-conducting electrolyte
the literature)3 and/or by the use of anode materials which do membrane, with a thickness of about 100 µm, separates the
anode, where the ozone is generated from the cathode.

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 Ozonization
at the end of the 1950s and were patented as part of the resistant to corrosion if no free anions exist in the medium –
development of a new type of fuel cell. The idea of this patent in other words, when used in purified water. PEM ozone cells
was the use of a plastic membrane capable of passing ions as have been operated for many years without degradation in
a solid electrolyte in an electrochemical cell. The PEM tech- purified water systems with outputs of one to several hun-
nology was originally developed for fuel-cell generators in dred cubic meters of water per hour. Second, PEM cells can be
space travel and was used in the Gemini spacecraft. The cells operated at very high current densities, permitting the con-
were equipped with cation-exchanger membranes, but the struction of compact units with high performance.
poor chemical stability of these membranes resulted in a Furthermore, the cells generate only oxygen and ozone;
restricted operating lifetime of the fuel cells. there are no by-products which could accumulate in the
The development, in the US at the beginning of the 1970s, water. Since ozone is produced directly out of pure or ultrapure
of perfluorinated PEM membranes resistant to chemicals water, it should not be considered as an “added substance”
permitted the use of such membranes in various technically regarding the FDA guidelines. This also applies to O2 which
important electrochemical applications. The membrane ma- is produced by the destruction of ozone via ultraviolet radia-
terial is a polymer with a structure similar to that of tion. This technology is thus suitable for the production of
Polytetrafluoroethylen (PTFE) and is just as resistant as ozone in purified water systems. A further advantage is that
PTFE to chemicals. The polymer contains covalently linked the ozone is produced directly in the purified water, and this
sulphonic-acid groups which, in the presence of water, cause considerably simplifies the devices for the injection of the
the polymer to swell and permit hydronium ions to move ozone.
freely. Due to this property, the polymer can be used as a solid
electrolyte. Such polymer membranes are today used indus- Construction and Principle of Operation
trially in chlor-alkali electrolysis. Subsequently, the PEM of a PEM Ozone Cell
technology has been developed further for various electroly- The proton-conducting electrolyte membrane is in direct
sis applications and for fuel cells, particularly for mobile contact with porous electrodes on both sides. The porosity
applications. ensures that any gases generated at the electrodes can be
removed and that the water can reach the electrodes - Figure
Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) 2.
Ozone Technology The voltage applied to the cell causes the water to become
PEM cells offer various advantages for the electrolytical pro- disassociated at the anode:
duction of ozone. First, the anode material used today is fully

Figure 3. The flow diagram shows a water treatment system, followed by a storage tank and a distribution system which are actively
sanitized with the aid of a PEM ozone generator.

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Ozonization
Methods Drawbacks purified water systems in pharmaceuticals and life sciences.
A further advantage is that it not only kills the microorgan-
Periodic disinfection • High labor costs isms, but removes the endotoxin products of the decomposi-
with chemicals • Production has to be interrupted
• Decomposition and flushing of remaining tion process. It can be used equally well for the continuous
chemicals disinfection of distribution lines and for one-off disinfection
• Variations in the water quality processes such as those necessary after maintenance or
Sterilization with steam • High installation costs repair work on the system. While concentrations of 15 to 20
• Production has to be interrupted ppb are generally sufficient for continuous disinfection, a
• Sterile steam needed
• Variations in the water quality concentration of 50 to 60 ppb is necessary for full sanitization
which is proven by general experience of the authors. Ozone
Sterile filtration • No protection of the network
• Risk of breakthrough generators with outputs of 0.3 to 4 g/h are today available to
• Periodic sterilization and integrity tests meet a wide range of system capacities. The PEM cell is a fully
necessary automatic, compact module, and is generally installed in a
• High operating costs
bypass line in the water circulation system. The ozone gener-
UV irradiation • Effective only locally (in the beam) ated by the process of electrolysis dissolves directly in the
• No protection of the network
• Sterile filter is necessary purified water flowing through this bypass - Figure 3.
Hot storage • High installation costs
• High operating costs Design of a PEM Ozone Module
• Cooling at the point of use is generally In addition to its integration into the water system, the
necessary performance of a PEM module also depends on its design, its
Table B. Different sterilization and disinfection methods and regulation, and its power supply. In all cases, the design of an
related problems for the treatment of purified water. electrolytic ozone generator must take the specific require-
ments of the pharmaceuticals and life sciences into account.
H2O -> 1/2 O2 + 2 e- + 2 H+ or Among other things, it must permit complete draining of the
H2O -> 1/3 O3 + 2 e- + 2 H+ water, it must be free of gaps and dead volumes, and the parts
of the cell housing in contact with the water and the gaskets
The resulting electrons are removed through the electrode. must be made of suitable materials. The housing can be made
The protons pass through the electrolyte membrane to the of stainless steel or Polyvinylidene Fluoride (PVDF), both of
cathode, where they recombine with the electrons supplied which are highly resistant to the corrosive effects of high
through the electrode: ozone concentrations and comply with the FDA regulations.
Since ozone is a highly potent oxidant, the compatibility of
2H+ + 2 e- -> H2 materials used for water purification systems generally have
to be examined carefully. The above mentioned materials
The reactions which form ozone (with three atoms) and have proven their resistivity in more than 500 applications
oxygen (with two atoms) are competitive reactions. Their designed and carried out by the authors. Moreover, they are
relative contributions to the total amount of released oxygen used in steam sterilized plants or hot storage tanks as well
depend on various operating parameters and on the structure which also are highly corrosive.
and composition of the boundary between the electrodes and A compact design which permits easy access to all compo-
the electrolyte membrane. At an optimum operating tem- nents and compliance with safety requirements, such as the
perature of about 30°C, about 15% of the oxygen formed at the insulation of the electric terminals, will simplify installation
anode is released as ozone, and about 85% as oxygen. This and maintenance.
corresponds to a current-efficiency of 15%. Whether ozone has to be removed before using purified
For operation of the cell at an optimum current density, water in the pharmaceutical industry depends on the appli-
the voltage across the cell must be about 3 to 4 V. With a cation area. In sensitive areas, it is mostly removed by UV
current-efficiency of 15%, the specific energy requirement is radiation. In other areas, for example where the water is used
67 to 90 kWh per kilogram of ozone. This is much higher than for rinsing, the half life time of ozone can be used.
the specific energy requirement of an ozone generator operat- An electrolytic ozone generator has many operational
ing on the principle of a corona discharge. However, for the advantages over conventional methods like silent discharge
ozone quantities typically needed in purified water technol- or UV radiation with a wave length of Lambda 185 nanom-
ogy, which lie in the range of 0.3 to 12 g/h, this higher power eter because:
consumption is more than compensated by the proven advan-
tages of the PEM cell technology. • it needs no high-voltage supply since it operates at only 4
VDC
Ozone in Industrial Applications • the ozone is produced directly from the water to be treated
The effectiveness of the PEM process in the reduction of and no approved gas supply is needed
microbial growth and in the protection against external • there is no unwanted gas in the purified water
contamination makes ozone the preferred disinfectant for • the amount of ozone can be controlled easily (in accordance

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 Ozonization
tical, life-science, and chemical companies. It is operated by
the company Infraserv Höchst, which provides the appropri-
ate infrastructure for these companies. Since March 2000,
this infrastructure includes the provision of purified water
for production purposes for the 20 manufacturers of pharma-
ceutical products. After detailed studies, Infraserv decided,
in agreement with its customers, to erect a new purified water
distribution system behind the existing demineralization
system for well water and drinking water. The purified water
complies with the current requirements for Purified Water as
laid down in the United States Pharmacopeia (USP) and
European Pharmacopeia (EP).

The Challenge: Distribution of Purified

Water over a Distance of 14 km
The central production of the purified water resulted in the
technical challenge of distributing it throughout the indus-
trial park, which has an area of four square kilometers. In
order to maintain the quality of the water on its way to the
consumers, microbial growth must be prevented in the entire
system. This is no easy task since the distribution system for
purified water is the largest of its kind in the world and has
a total of 14 kilometers of sterile pipes. From the central
water treatment system, the purified water is carried via a
main loop to four separate storage tanks with capacities of 75
or 200 m³, which meet peak demands for water. Each of these
tanks supplies five of the 20 companies via a sub-loop. The
loops contain about 500 m³ of purified water at all times, even
Figure 4. The tanks for intermediate storage of the purified water
are filled with ozonized water.

with Faraday’s Law, the ozone production rate is directly

proportional to the current flowing through the cell)
• external contamination is avoided
• it can be operated without additional safety measures
(such as monitoring of the air in the room)

However, design details not only affect the FDA conformity

and the reliable operation of the modules; they also are
decisive for the ease of maintenance, and are thus an impor-
tant cost factor. Microspherical anodes with a special surface
coating ensure a long lifetime of the PEM module. Monitoring
functions for such parameters as the flow of water, tempera-
ture, cell current and voltage, emergency power supply for the
cell, and protection against short-circuits are integrated.
There also is an option for external control with online
measurement. Any faults which occur can thus be detected
and rectified quickly, without the need for time-consuming
fault-finding activities.
The power supply for a PEM cell must be very reliable, and
at the same time, very efficient. Switched power supply units
designed to meet the specific requirements are the best
solution.

Practical Use of Ozone - Experience at

Infraserv Höchst in Frankfurt, Germany
The industrial park Höchst, once the Frankfurt headquarters Figure 5. The pipes which carry the purified water to the 20
of Hoechst AG, is today occupied by more than 80 pharmaceu- consumers extend over 14 kilometers.

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Ozonization
generators installed locally in the consumer companies in
order to protect the sub-loops.
The quality of the purified water is continuously moni-
tored, in accordance with the requirements for a pharmaceu-
tical water distribution system, by means of online and
offline analysis. For example, the germ counts are tested once
per month at 34 sample-extraction points, the samples being
taken weekly. Since the installation of the system, there have
been no problems.

Control Technology Permits

Online Monitoring
The system is controlled by a central process controller
consisting of two operating stations and five process stations.
These are connected together by an industrial Ethernet
which uses optical fibers as the connecting elements. The
acceptance values of the consumers and the measured values
Figure 6. The ozone generators, some installed centrally, some at
the consumer locations, add ozone to the water to achieve a with which the water quality is monitored online are used in
concentration of 20 ppb. the process control system to maintain the desired quality.
The control system processes data from a total of 260 measur-
when there is no demand, and this water is circulated con- ing points spread over an area of several square kilometers.
tinuously to maintain the required microbiological quality. In the course of system operation, it became apparent that
The actual consumption of purified water is about 250 m³/h. the capacity (500 m³/h) of the existing demineralization
In addition, the storage tanks are equipped with special system, which is 40 years old is too large, since the actual
ozone injection devices and are designed for maximum hy- consumption of purified water is only about 250 m³/h. A new
giene. Thirteen sterile pumps provide the continuous circula- treatment system is now being installed, sufficiently large to
tion and the necessary turbulent flow in the system. Five cope with peak demands, but not too large for the task. Due
redundant pairs of pumps ensure safe operation even if a to the low Total Organic Carbon (TOC) content of the purified
pump fails. Most of the distribution system for purified water water, which means that only small amounts of ozone are
is mounted on pipe bridges or special pipeways. needed, the full installed output of the ozone generators is not
needed during normal operation: 20 to 30% of the installed
Continuous Ozonization with output is sufficient to protect the system. Furthermore, the
Electrolytic Cells observed half-life time of the ozone is considerably longer
In order to maintain the water quality during the storage and than the expected value of 20 minutes.
distribution process, the purified water is circulated continu-
ously, and in addition, ozonized at various points in the Summary
distribution network. The electrolytic ozone generators used Ozone is suitable for long-term protection of even very large
for this operate on the PEM principle described above. A systems for the storage and distribution of purified water. Due
prerequisite for ozonizing is that the conductivity of the puri- to its specific effects, which are described above, it makes hot
fied water is less than 20µS/cm. In the industrial park storage and distribution of the water unnecessary. An intel-
Höchst, the conductivity is normally less than 0.2 µS/cm. The ligent process control system with low ozone concentrations
electrolytic cells ozonize the purified water as it flows through ensures efficient protection against microbiological contami-
them. nation; at the same time, the operating costs can be consider-
With a total of 34 electrolytic ozone cells, each with an ably reduced.
output of 4 g, the system at the industrial park Höchst is the
largest of its kind in the world. The permanent ozonization of References
the water is ensured by 15 ozone generation stations, each of 1. C.F. Schönbein, Poggendorf Annalen 50, 616 (1840).
which has several of the previously described electrolytic
ozone cells connected in parallel. Some of the ozone genera- 2. Dr. R. Werner, Lecture given at the symposium “Water
tion stations are installed in containers at various locations Treatment for Pharmaceutical Purposes,” 29./30. Novem-
throughout the park. Even when all connected consumers are ber 1983, Frankfurt a.M./Germany.
drawing their maximum amount of purified water, the ozone
concentration never drops below 20 ppb. If necessary, the 3. J.D. Seader, C.W. Tobias, Ind. Eng. Chem., 44, 9, 2207
entire system can be sanitized at an ozone concentration of up (1952).
to 200 ppb without the need for additional equipment. The
ozone is destroyed by ultraviolet radiators installed in the 4. H.P. Fritz, J.C.G. Thanos, D.W. Wabner, Z. Naturforsch.
consumer companies. There are also 13 additional ozone 34b, 1617 (1979).

6 PHARMACEUTICAL ENGINEERING JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2005 ©Copyright ISPE 2005

 Ozonization
5. P.C. Foller, C.W. Tobias, J. Electrochem. Soc. 129, 3, 567 Dieter Schuster holds a diploma as process
(1982). engineer. He is currently Sales and Export
Manager in the Pharmaceuticals and Life
6. S. Stucki, G. Theis, R. Kötz, H. Devantay, H.J. Christen, J. Sciences Division of Christ GmbH, Germany
Electrochem. Soc. 132, 367 (1985). and Christ AG, Aesch/Switzerland. Both of
which belong to the Christ Water Technology
7. G. Hoogers, Fuel Cell Technology Handbook, ISBN: Group, and are members of the Austrian
0849308771 CRC Press, (2002). Best Water Technology Group, BWT, one of
the world’s leading manufacturers of pure water systems.
8. Prof. Dr. K. Wallhäusser, Lecture given at the symposium, Schuster, who has worked since 1979 in various functions in
“Water Treatment for Pharmaceutical Purposes,” 3/4 May the company, is thus primarily responsible for the sales of
1988, Heidelberg/Germany. complete systems for the treatment of pharmaceutical water
in Germany and abroad. He has long standing experience in
Acknowledgement the sector of pure water production and is specialized in all
Tables A and B and Figures 2-6 are courtesy of Christ Water areas of pharmaceutical water treatment. He is a member of
Technology Group/Innovatec. ISPE and has already published numerous articles and case
studies on the use of ozone in pure water systems and other
About the Authors subjects related to water treatment systems in the Pharma-
Samuel Stucki obtained his PhD in chemis- ceuticals and Life Sciences. He can be contacted by e-mail:
try in 1973. He started his professional ca- dieter.schuster@christ-wasser.de.
reer as a researcher in electrochemical pro- Christ Water Technology Deutschland, Steinbeisstr. 41-
cess technology at an industrial research 43, D-71665 Vaihingen/Enz, Germany.
center, where he carried out the fundamen-
tal investigations on electrochemical ozone Christian Stark was trained as a sales
production in the 1980s, which eventually coordinator and also received a diploma as a
led to the development of PEM ozone cells sales manager. He is currently head of the
and their application in ultrapure water technology. He is Marketing Department at Christ AG, Aesch/
currently head of a research department specializing in Switzerland, member of the Austrian Best
environmental technology at the Paul Scherrer Institut in Water Technology Group, BWT, one of the
Switzerland. Stucki has maintained his research interest in world’s leading manufacturers of pure water
electrochemical ozone technology as a scientific consultant to systems. Stark, who has worked since 1990
Innovatec since 1995. in various functions in the company, has more than 10 years
Innovatec Geräetetechnik GmbH, Industriestr. 9, D-53359 of experience in the sector of pure water production and
Rheinbach, Germany. specializes in all areas of pharmaceutical water treatment.
Among other things, he is a member of the PDA and of the
Dirk Schulze studied mechanical engineer- Swiss Association for Clean-Room Technology (SRRT) and
ing and business management. Since 1997, has already published some articles on the use of ozone in
he is the Managing Director of the company pure water systems and other subjects related to water
Innovatec Gerätetechnik GmbH, located in treatment systems in the Pharmaceuticals and Life Sciences.
Rheinbach. One of the main business sectors He can be contacted by e-mail: christian.stark@ christ.ch.
of the company is the development and pro- Christ AG, Hauptstr. 192, CH- 4147, Aesch, Switzerland.
duction of ozone technology, and in particu-
lar, of components for the chemical and phar-
maceutical industries, and of medical equipment. He has
worked for the company since 1995 and has more than 13
years of experience in the sector of electrolytical ozone gen-
eration by means of PEM cells (about 500 units installed in
the pharmaceutical industry throughout the world). He also
has many years of experience concerning thermal methods as
well as in the generation of ozone by corona discharge. As the
result of his work in the development and design of ozone
generation systems and in the applications of this technol-
ogy, Schulze has in the last few years acted increasingly as a
consultant in the design and configuration of ozone-protected
systems for the cold storage and distribution of pure water.
Innovatec Gerätetechnik GmbH, Industriestr. 9, D-53359
Rheinbach, Germany.

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