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Water Research Aug 2023Ozonation is a viable option to improve the removal of micropollutants (MPs) in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). Nevertheless, the application of ozonation is...
Ozonation is a viable option to improve the removal of micropollutants (MPs) in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). Nevertheless, the application of ozonation is hindered by its high energy requirements and by the uncertainties regarding the formation of toxic transformation products in the process. Energy requirements of ozonation can be reduced with a pre-ozone treatment, such as a biological activated carbon (BAC) filter, that removes part of the effluent organic matter before ozonation. This study investigated a combination of BAC filtration followed by ozonation (the BO process) to remove MPs at low ozone doses and low energy input, and focused on the formation of toxic organic and inorganic products during ozonation. Effluent from a WWTP was collected, spiked with MPs (approximately 1 µg/L) and treated with the BO process. Different flowrates (0.25-4 L/h) and specific ozone doses (0.2-0.6 g O/g TOC) were tested and MPs, ecotoxicity and bromate were analyzed. For ecotoxicity assessment, three in vivo (daphnia, algae and bacteria) and six in vitro CALUX assays (Era, GR, PAH, P53, PR, andNrf2 CALUX) were used. Results show that the combination of BAC filtration and ozonation has higher MP removal and higher ecotoxicity removal than only BAC filtration and only ozonation. The in vivo assays show a low ecotoxicity in the initial WWTP effluent samples and no clear trend with increasing ozone doses, while most of the in vitro assays show a decrease in ecotoxicity with increasing ozone dose. This suggests that for the tested bioassays, feed water and ozone doses, the overall ecotoxicity of the formed transformation products during ozonation was lower than the overall ecotoxicity of the parent compounds. In the experiments with bromide spiking, relevant formation of bromate was observed above specific ozone doses of approximately 0.4 O/g TOC and more bromate was formed for the samples with BAC pre-treatment. This indirectly indicates the effectivity of the pre-treatment in removing organic matter and making ozone more available to react with other compounds (such as MPs, but also bromide), but also underlines the importance of controlling the ozone dose to be below the threshold to avoid formation of bromate. It was concluded that treatment of the tested WWTP effluent in the BO process at a specific ozone dose of 0.2 g O/g TOC, results in high MP removal at limited energy input while no increase in ecotoxicity, nor formation of bromate was observed under this condition. This indicates that the hybrid BO process can be implemented to remove MPs and improve the ecological quality of this WWTP effluent with a lower energy demand than conventional MP removal processes such as standalone ozonation.
Topics: Wastewater; Charcoal; Ozone; Bromates; Bromides; Water Pollutants, Chemical; Water Purification
PubMed: 37302178
DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2023.120179 -
Medical Gas Research 2023Ozone therapy (OT), a medical procedure, has been showing good results during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19). We aimed to build an evidence and gaps map (EGM) of OT... (Review)
Review
Ozone therapy (OT), a medical procedure, has been showing good results during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19). We aimed to build an evidence and gaps map (EGM) of OT in the COVID-19 ranking the articles found according to levels of evidence and outcomes. The EGM brings bubbles of different sizes and different colors according to the articles. The OT intervention used was major or minor autohemotherapy, rectal insufflation and ozonized saline solution. EGM was based on 13 clinical studies using OT for COVID-19 involving a total of 271 patients. We found 30 outcomes related to OT in COVID-19. Our EGM divided the outcomes into six groups: 1-clinical improvement; 2-hospitalization; 3-inflammatory, thromboembolic, infectious, or metabolic markers; 4-radiological aspects, 5-viral infection and 6-adverse events. Major autohemotherapy was present in 19 outcomes, followed by rectal insufflation. Improvement in clinical symptoms of COVID-19, improvement of respiratory function, improvement of oxygen saturation, reduction in hospital internment, decrease in C-reactive protein, decrease in ferritin, decrease in lactate dehydrogenase, decrease in interleukin 6, decrease in D-dimer, radiological improvement of lung lesions and absence of reported adverse events were related in the papers. The most commonly used concentrations of OT in major autohemotherapy and in rectal insufflation were 40 μg/mL and 35 μg/mL, respectively. Here, we bring the first EGM showing the efficacy and safety of OT in the treatment of COVID-19. OT can be used as integrative medical therapy in COVID-19 at a low cost and improve the health conditions of the patients.
Topics: Humans; COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; Ozone; Treatment Outcome; Hospitalization
PubMed: 37077114
DOI: 10.4103/2045-9912.372819 -
Brazilian Journal of Biology = Revista... 2022Ozone gas is considered as a safe antimicrobial agent in food industries. Here, we evaluated the antifungal and antiaflatoxigenic activities of ozone against fungal...
Ozone gas is considered as a safe antimicrobial agent in food industries. Here, we evaluated the antifungal and antiaflatoxigenic activities of ozone against fungal contamination in nuts. The most predominant fungal genera in nuts were Aspergillus, Penicillium, Fusarium, and Rhizopus. Ozone (4 ppm) significantly reduced the fungal sporulation of A. flavus and their aflatoxin production. Interestingly, ozone treatment of nuts reduced the total fungal count and increased aflatoxins degradation by approximately 95% and 85%, respectively. Ozone displayed high efficiency to increase the permeability of cell membrane and injury of cell wall of fungi. Increasing the exposure time of ozone in nuts up to 180 minutes showed to reduce the total lipid, carbohydrates, and protein by around 41.2%, 42.7% and 38.4% respectively, in pistachio, almond and peanuts. In conclusion, ozonation is a suitable decontaminating approach for reducing the microbial load in nuts, when used with suitable exposure time.
Topics: Aflatoxins; Antifungal Agents; Nutritive Value; Nuts; Ozone
PubMed: 35766710
DOI: 10.1590/1519-6984.263814 -
International Immunopharmacology Sep 2022Ozone adjuvant in COVID-19 management showed conflicting results in prior studies. Here, we aimed to comprehensively evaluate benefits and side effects of ozone as... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis
OBJECTIVE
Ozone adjuvant in COVID-19 management showed conflicting results in prior studies. Here, we aimed to comprehensively evaluate benefits and side effects of ozone as adjuvant therapy in COVID-19 patients.
METHODS
Systematic searches were conducted in MEDLINE, ScienceDirect, Cochrane Library, Springer, medRxiv, and ProQuest for articles investigating ozone as adjuvant therapy in COVID-19. Clinical and laboratory outcomes, mortality, length of hospital stay, intensive care unit (ICU) admission, and adverse events were assessed.
RESULTS
Thirteen studies were included in this review. Case-control studies, but not randomized controlled trials (RCTs), showed a decrease in mortality following ozone therapy (OR = 0.24 (95% CI [0.07-0.76]), p = 0.02, I = 0%, fixed-effect). However, ozone therapy did not improve the length of hospital stay (SMD = -0.99 (95 %CI -2.44 to 0.45), p = 0.18, I = 84%, random-effects) and ICU admission (RR = 0.57 (95 %CI [0.05-6.71]), I = 73%, p = 0.65, random-effects). Consecutive case control studies suggested that ozone therapy significantly improved levels of D-dimer (p = 0.0060), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH; p = 0.0209), C-reactive protein (CRP; p = 0.0040) and interleukin (IL)-6 (p = 0.0048) as compared to standard therapy alone.
CONCLUSIONS
The beneficial effect of ozone in COVID-19 management seems to be limited to the improvements of laboratory parameters among severe patients, including the reduction of IL-6, LDH, CRP, and D-dimer levels. Meanwhile, other study endpoints, such as mortality, length of stay and ICU admission, were not improved following ozone therapy, although it may partly be due to a shorter duration of viral clearance. Furthermore, no serious adverse event was reported following ozone therapy, suggesting its high safety profile. (PROSPERO ID: CRD42021278018).
Topics: Hospitalization; Humans; Intensive Care Units; Length of Stay; Ozone; COVID-19 Drug Treatment
PubMed: 35803132
DOI: 10.1016/j.intimp.2022.109014 -
PloS One 2022The current COVID-19 pandemic is causing profound health, economic, and social problems worldwide. The global shortage of medical and personal protective equipment (PPE)...
The current COVID-19 pandemic is causing profound health, economic, and social problems worldwide. The global shortage of medical and personal protective equipment (PPE) in specialized centers during the outbreak demonstrated the need for efficient methods to disinfect and recycle them in times of emergency. We have previously described that high ozone concentrations destroyed viral RNA in an inactivated SARS-CoV-2 strain within a few minutes. However, the efficient ozone dosages for active SARS-CoV-2 are still unknown. The present study aimed to evaluate the systematic effects of ozone exposure on face masks from hospitalized patients infected with SARS-CoV-2. Face masks from COVID-19 patients were collected and treated with a clinical ozone generator at high ozone concentrations in small volumes for short periods. The study focused on SARS-CoV-2 gene detection (assessed by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR)) and on the virus inactivation by in vitro studies. We assessed the effects of different high ozone concentrations and exposure times on decontamination efficiency. We showed that high ozone concentrations (10,000, 2,000, and 4,000 ppm) and short exposure times (10, 10, and 2 minutes, respectively), inactivated both the original strain and the B.1.1.7 strain of SARS-CoV-2 from 24 contaminated face masks from COVID-19 patients. The validation results showed that the best condition for SARS-CoV-2 inactivation was a treatment of 4,000 ppm of ozone for 2 minutes. Further studies are in progress to advance the potential applications of these findings.
Topics: COVID-19; Humans; Masks; Ozone; Pandemics; SARS-CoV-2
PubMed: 35867641
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0271826 -
Mediators of Inflammation 2010Although orthodox medicine has provided a variety of topical anti-infective agents, some of them have become scarcely effective owing to antibiotic- and... (Review)
Review
Although orthodox medicine has provided a variety of topical anti-infective agents, some of them have become scarcely effective owing to antibiotic- and chemotherapeutic-resistant pathogens. For more than a century, ozone has been known to be an excellent disinfectant that nevertheless had to be used with caution for its oxidizing properties. Only during the last decade it has been learned how to tame its great reactivity by precisely dosing its concentration and permanently incorporating the gas into triglycerides where gaseous ozone chemically reacts with unsaturated substrates leading to therapeutically active ozonated derivatives. Today the stability and efficacy of the ozonated oils have been already demonstrated, but owing to a plethora of commercial products, the present paper aims to analyze these derivatives suggesting the strategy to obtain products with the best characteristics.
Topics: Aging; Animals; Anti-Infective Agents, Local; Humans; Molecular Structure; Oils; Oxidants, Photochemical; Oxidation-Reduction; Ozone; Skin Diseases; Wound Healing
PubMed: 20671923
DOI: 10.1155/2010/610418 -
Trends in Biochemical Sciences Dec 2021Tropospheric ozone (O) is among the most damaging air pollutant to plants. Plants alter the atmospheric O concentration in two distinct ways: (i) by the emission of... (Review)
Review
Tropospheric ozone (O) is among the most damaging air pollutant to plants. Plants alter the atmospheric O concentration in two distinct ways: (i) by the emission of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that are precursors of O and (ii) by dry deposition, which includes diffusion of O into vegetation through stomata and destruction by nonstomatal pathways. Isoprene, monoterpenes, and higher terpenoids are emitted by plants in quantities that alter tropospheric O. Deposition of O into vegetation is related to stomatal conductance, leaf structural traits, and the detoxification capacity of the apoplast. The biochemical fate of O once it enters leaves and reacts with aqueous surfaces is largely unknown, but new techniques for the tracking and identification of initial products have the potential to open the black box.
Topics: Air Pollutants; Ozone; Plant Leaves; Plants; Volatile Organic Compounds
PubMed: 34303585
DOI: 10.1016/j.tibs.2021.06.007 -
Environment International Sep 2019Many studies have reported associations between air pollution and health impacts, but few studies have explicitly differentiated the economic effects of PM and ozone at...
Many studies have reported associations between air pollution and health impacts, but few studies have explicitly differentiated the economic effects of PM and ozone at China's regional level. This study compares the PM and ozone pollution-related health impacts based on an integrated approach. The research framework combines an air pollutant emission projection model (GAINS), an air quality model (GEOS-Chem), a health model using the latest exposure-response functions, medical prices and value of statistical life (VSL), and a general equilibrium model (CGE). Results show that eastern provinces in China encounter severer loss from PM and more benefit from mitigation policy, whereas the lower income western provinces encounter severer health impacts and economic burdens due to ozone pollution, and the impact in southern and central provinces is relatively lower. In 2030, without control policies, PM pollution could lead to losses of 2.0% in Gross Domestic Production (GDP), 210 billion Chinese Yuan (CNY) in health expenditure and a life loss of around 10,000 billion, while ozone pollution could contribute to GDP loss by 0.09% (equivalent to 78 billion CNY), 310 billion CNY in health expenditure, and a life loss of 2300 billion CNY (equivalent to 2.7% of GDP). By contrast, with control policies, the GDP and VSLs loss in 2030 attributable to ambient air pollution could be reduced significantly. We also find that the health and economic impacts of ozone pollution are significantly lower than PM, but are much more difficult to mitigate. The Chinese government should promote air pollution control policies that could jointly reduce PM and ozone pollution.
Topics: Air Pollutants; Air Pollution; China; Environmental Exposure; Humans; Models, Theoretical; Ozone; Particulate Matter
PubMed: 31200152
DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2019.05.075 -
Medical Gas Research 2019Medicine faces crisis with emerging "super bugs," lethal viruses (Ebola), and stealth pathogens such as tick-borne infections. Thousands are dying worldwide of once... (Review)
Review
Medicine faces crisis with emerging "super bugs," lethal viruses (Ebola), and stealth pathogens such as tick-borne infections. Thousands are dying worldwide of once easily treatable diseases. Ozone therapy, extensively studied, may be a valuable adjunctive or stand-alone therapy. Ebola again ravages Africa with over 2000 already dead, carrying a 65% mortality rate. The world desperately needs safe, inexpensive and effective anti-infective therapy to which microbes will not develop resistance. Oxidation therapies have shown an extremely high safety profile, lacking credible reports of significant injury beyond vein irritation. Ozone therapy, the most studied and least expensive to perform, is in itself a germicide, not an antibiotic, and improves several physiological parameters essential for infection defense. Recent reports indicate very favorable responses to both bacterial and viral disease, inclusive of Ebola. Despite lack of commercial profitability (not patentable), medicine would do well to revisit its pre-antibiotic era oxidation therapy roots, especially ozone in the current crisis.
Topics: Communicable Diseases; Hemorrhagic Fever, Ebola; Humans; Hyperbaric Oxygenation; Oxidation-Reduction; Ozone
PubMed: 31898609
DOI: 10.4103/2045-9912.273962 -
Medical Gas Research 2023Postherpetic neuralgia (PHN) is a devastating disease with extraordinarily poor treatment outcomes. Both pulsed radiofrequency (PRF) and ozone have good effects on the...
Postherpetic neuralgia (PHN) is a devastating disease with extraordinarily poor treatment outcomes. Both pulsed radiofrequency (PRF) and ozone have good effects on the treatment of the disease. However, whether PRF and ozone have a synergistic effect on PHN remains unclear. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the therapeutic effects of ozone alone and in combination with PRF in the treatment of PHN. Ninety-one patients with PHN were assigned into two groups: PRF combined with ozone (PRF + ozone group, n = 44) and ozone therapy alone (ozone group, n = 47). In PRF + ozone group, the high-voltage, long-duration PRF was applied to the target dorsal root ganglions. Then ozonated water (11.5 µg/mL) was injected through the inner cannula. In the ozone group, all other processes were the same as those in the PRF + ozone group apart from the electrical stimulation. The therapeutic efficacy was evaluated by visual analog scale and tactile sensation at pre-treatment and post-treatment 3, 6, and 12 months. Compared with pre-treatment data, the visual analog scale score was significantly decreased in both groups after treatment. Compared with the ozone group, the visual analog scale score was significantly decreased in the PRF + ozone group at 3, 6, and 12 months. Similarly, the tactile sensation was also significantly decreased at post-treatment when compared to pre-treatment. However, there were no statistical differences between the two groups. Regression analysis results showed that the history of diabetes mellitus and age had significant negative and positive effects, respectively, on the treatment results. To conclude, the administration of PRF + ozone and ozone therapy alone could both improve pain symptoms. Moreover, treatment effects and total efficacy rates tended to be higher for the combination of PRF and ozone than ozone alone. This conclusion was especially true for long-term therapeutic effects.
Topics: Ganglia, Spinal; Humans; Neuralgia, Postherpetic; Ozone; Pulsed Radiofrequency Treatment; Retrospective Studies
PubMed: 35946218
DOI: 10.4103/2045-9912.352660