Ozone decomposition on glass and silica

Ozone decomposition on glass and silica surfaces is studied by means of non‐porous particles in a fixed bed (sand, glass bead, crushed glass bead, silica). Influences of gas velocity, particle diameter and reactor volume are investigated. Ozone is produced by a silent discharge generator. A model considering the geometric characteristics of material is used so that the ozone decomposition rate per unit of surface area is identified. The decomposition reaction is represented by means of an apparent first‐order kinetic constant. The high dependency of the apparent kinetic constant on the surface area, for given flow rates, suggests that the ozone decomposition mechanism is not simple. Due to the values of the apparent first order kinetic constant, the existence of catalytic species produced by the ozone generator, as well as excited ozone and/or oxygen species, are considered, by means of several models, to explain the experimental results.