Municipal water companies have used ozone technology to treat large quantities of water for many years because of its effectiveness in purifying and conditioning water. Because ozone can be added at the point of water treatment and naturally reverts back to Oxygen without leaving any residue behind, it can keep water sanitized throughout a facility.

In the bottled water market, maintaining an optimum level of ozone is very critical. If the ozone level is too high, plastic bottles may develop an aftertaste. If the ozone level is too low, bacteria spores hidden in the water, inside the plastic walls or closure device could recover and easily contaminate the entire product. It is recommended that ozone should be applied in the range of 1.0 to 2.0 mg/lit for a period of 4 to 10 minutes contact time to safely ensure disinfection, this situation helps to maintain a 0.1 to 0.4 ppm residual ozone level at the time of bottling. This provides an additional safety factor because the bottles can be disinfected and sanitized while filling it with the product.

Water treated with ozone is also suitable for rinsing and cleaning bottles and disinfecting production equipment. This reduces the potential for bacterial growth in unchlorinated water found within the distribution system. It also reduces the amount of clean-in-place (CIP) required to keep the operation disinfected. Many plants have started incorporating an Ozonated cap and bottling rinsing system.

Ozone treatment is one of the most effective microbiological barriers that water bottlers can employ to protect consumers against microorganisms. Consumers are largely unaware, that many bottlers worldwide rely on ozone to provide safe and good tasting product. Since, ozone has played a critical role in helping the bottled water industry in delivering a safe and aesthetically pleasing product.