A stabilized ozone fog to efficiently sanitize greenhouses and other difficult to clean structures, using micro / nano bubble stabilization and vaporisation control - Greenhouse Sanitisation

The UK produces nearly 2000 Ha of high value greenhouse-protected crops, with a sales value
approaching £1 billion. These intensive crops experience bacterial and fungal infective
diseases, causing losses of up to £150 million. Resistance to treatments is increasing and
chemical use is becoming increasingly restricted and also require long airing times to allow
toxic residues to dissipate, meaning that a more effective form of greenhouse disinfection is
needed. The use of ozone as a sanitizer is one possibility, since it is highly effective and
breaks down to oxygen. However its high reactivity causes unacceptable variability in its
efficacy.
We have identified a method to create a novel stabilized ozone ‘fog’ that resists
decomposition during distribution and reaches the target surface with consistently high levels
of potency, with minimal wetting of surfaces by condensation. We believe we can develop a
sanitization unit that can reliably disinfect complex greenhouse structures and can possibly
also be used in the presence of growing plants. Our project is to prove the feasibility of this
concept and to understand the dosage and aerosol characteristics that would be required. The
future developed technology is envisaged to be usable to treat an entire greenhouse and also
have the embodiment of a hand- held unit to treat individual areas when required; ultimately it
may also be applicable to use in healthcare and food warehousing.