Assessment of the Efficacy of Intermittent Ozone Disinfection

An example of intermittent disinfection occurs in dental-unit water systems (DUWS), which are disinfected only for a specified time per each day. The efficacy of intermittent ozonation was evaluated using a laboratory-scale, membrane-based ozone disinfection system (MBODS), which delivers bubbleless dissolved ozone to the DUWS. A new tool - the weighted Ct value, or C_w, - was applied to interpret heterotrophic plate counts (HPC) data. To achieve the American Dental Association's (ADA's) criterion (<200 CFU/mL), the required ozone dosage was C_w > 0.07 mg–O₃/L. However, even the highest ozone dosage (C_w > 0.130 mg/L) allowed biofilm HPC to persist at over 10⁴ CFU/cm². Although a higher C_w killed planktonic and biofilm bacteria more thoroughly, it also generated more biodegradable dissolved organic carbon (BDOC). Thus, this research illustrates the inherent trade-off of intermittent ozonation: a higher C_w kills more bacteria during the ozonation period, but creates more BDOC that fosters biofilm regrowth when ozonation is off.