Ozone and oxygen
Oxidant
An oxidant is a substance that takes electrons from something else, changing it chemically. Ozone is a strong oxidant, which is what makes it useful for disinfecting water and air, and what makes it damaging to lung tissue and to rubber. The same property does both.
Also called oxidising agent, oxidiser
The everyday meaning first
Rust is oxidation. So is a cut apple browning, and so is bleach removing a stain. In each case a substance is stripped of electrons and turned into something else. The thing doing the stripping is the oxidant.
Ozone as an oxidant
Ozone is among the strongest oxidants in practical use — commonly described as second only to fluorine, about 2.5 times stronger than chlorine and around 3 000 times faster acting.
One property, three consequences
Almost everything about ozone traces back to that single characteristic:
- Useful. It disinfects water, oxidises iron and manganese, strips colour and odour, and inactivates microorganisms — and because it reverts to oxygen it leaves no residual chemical behind, unlike chlorine.
- Hazardous. Lung tissue is oxidisable. That is why ozone must never be inhaled, and why an ozone sauna keeps the head outside the cabinet.
- Destructive to equipment. Natural rubber, latex, nylon and many plastics are oxidised and embrittled by ozone, which is why the gas path has to be built from ozone-resistant materials.
There is no version of ozone that has the first consequence without the other two. They are the same property seen from three angles, and the design of an ozone sauna is largely an exercise in getting the benefit while managing the other two.
Why it matters here
Oxidation is the one idea that makes the rest of the equipment make sense: why ozone disinfects, why it must never be breathed, and why the door seals are a part you replace from time to time.