Monitoring significance of ozone

• Posted by Binda BindaJD June 7, 2023 Filed in Technology #Ozone sensor  51 views
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  Ozone (O3), is an isomer of oxygen (O2). At room temperature and pressure, it is a light blue gas with a "fresh" smell at trace levels and a noxious smell at high concentrations. At ambient temperature and pressure, ozone is less stable and can decompose into oxygen on its own.

   

  In fact, it is not scientific to simply equate 'ozone' with 'pollution'. In some cases, ozone does not play a 'villain' role. For example, after a thunderstorm, the air becomes fresh and you can even smell the grass. This is because a small amount of oxygen is transformed by the lightning strike into ozone, which has strong disinfecting and sterilizing properties. The use of ozone for disinfection is also now a common method in industry and medicine.

   

  Most of the Earth's ozone is in the stratosphere, around 25 km above the ground, where it absorbs much of the ultraviolet radiation emitted by the sun, which is harmful to humans, animals and plants, and acts as an important barrier for the planet. This is why scientists have long been advocating the "protection of the ozone layer".

   

  However, if the concentration of ozone near the ground is too high, it can be harmful to humans and the ecosystem, which is commonly referred to as ozone pollution.

  　　

  Ozone is a major component of photochemical smog. Ozone concentrations are also the primary indicator when people are monitoring these pollutants.

   

  The dangers of ozone pollution

  The other photochemical pollutants that accompany ozone pollution are also very harmful to humans and are carcinogenic in addition to causing respiratory, cardiac and cerebral diseases.

  　　

  In addition, the ecological damage caused by excessive near-ground ozone concentrations cannot be ignored. These photochemical smog can cause acid rain to appear, endangering the survival and growth of plants and animals; soil that absorbs large amounts of ozone can inhibit plant growth and cause significant damage to agricultural production.

   

  So, how does ozone pollution arise? Ozone pollution is actually the product of photochemical reactions of nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds. The so-called nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds generally come from car exhaust, petrochemical plant exhaust, restaurant fumes, paint volatilisation, etc. They are themselves air pollutants. They are air pollutants in their own right, and in a sense, ozone pollution is "secondary pollution".

   

  It is therefore imperative to strengthen ozone monitoring and to use ozone detectors to monitor ozone concentrations.