Abstract
The application of aqueous solutions of ozone for surface disinfection is an effective novel green technology with a potential for replacing the use of persistent chemicals in postharvest treatments. However, successful disinfection requires certain levels of ozone to be maintained throughout the process. The decay rates of aqueous ozone were found to vary with the presence of different fruit and vegetables commodities (apples, carrots, onions, celeriac, and pears). Pure aqueous ozone had a half-life of 3200 s, whereas the half-life of ozone was found to range with increasing cross-cut areas between 2177 and 291 s for apples, 573 and 345 s for carrots, 541 and 113 s for onions, 2800 and 253 s for pears, and 362 and 165 s for celeriac. With soil particles present, the ozone half-life dropped to 59 s for celeriac. Parallel measurements reported strong to moderate effect of soil particles (51–626 s, 10 g soil/L ozonated water), and naturally occurring fungi (850–2294 s, 0.25 g fungi mix/L ozonated water) on ozone half-life. In summary, presence of organic compounds, notably by damaged commodities, increase ozone decay and illustrate the need to correctly identify important ozone-depleting parameters, which is crucial for understanding the efficiency of ozone-based washing systems.
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