Abstract:
The apparatus comprises a housing (2) in which ozone-generating lamps (4) which operate at the wavelength at least lying between ca. 100 and 300 nm, are mounted longitudinally, to generate the quantity of ozone required by the application and which are maintained in position by a frame (5) within the said housing, which supports them at one end, while at the other end the same lamps are inserted for a short length into the open end of corresponding sheaths (6) aligned axially to those lamps, essentially as long as the lamps and made of any material opaque to ultraviolet radiation with wavelengths less than 200 nm but permeable to radiation of longer wavelength, means being provided for changing the relative position of the lamps and the corresponding sheaths. For the production of ozone the lamps are outside the sheaths and ambient air, which may have added oxygen is circulated by suitable means (9) through the housing (2) which contains them and the ozone produced by the apparatus is capable of use in open circuit, with dispersal of the ozone which has not reacted in the surroundings, or is capable of use in closed circuit, with recirculation of the air from a treatment chamber (18) in which are confined the products or the materials to be treated through the apparatus. In such case after the ozone treatment phase provision is made to eliminate the residual ozone from the treatment room by recycling the air from that room (18) through the apparatus with the lamps (4) which are still active but which in this phase are covered by the corresponding sheaths (6) which allow the passage of ultraviolet radiation of length greater than 200 nm which destroys the ozone.