Development of a Practical Method for Using Ozone Gas as a Virus Decontaminating Agent

Our objective was to develop a practical method of utilizing the known anti-viral properties of ozone in a mobile apparatus that could be used to decontaminate rooms in health care facilities, hotels and other buildings. Maximum anti-viral efficacy required a short period of high humidity (>90% relative humidity) after the attainment of peak ozone gas concentration (20-25 ppm). All 12 viruses tested, on different hard and porous surfaces, and in the presence of biological fluids, could be inactivated by at least 3 log(10), in the laboratory and in simulated field trials. The ozone was subsequently removed by a built-in catalytic converter.