Ozone Air-dryer DIY HELP

[sly]

I need an air dryer for my ozone generator. It's a corona unit so it needs dry air to operate efficiently. After looking around at stand-alone units... I think I could build one much cheaper.
My ozone unit is fed by a simple aquarium air pump. I'm estimating that it pumps about 2-3 CFM of air. Can I make an air dryer myself by filling a pipe with silica gel and passing the air through it?
Will silica gel dry the air fast enough to work? Also I would need to recharge it (in the oven) every so often. Would I be able to build one that wouldn't need to be recharged every few days? I would like to get at least a month out of it.
Does anyone have any DIY info on building your own air dryer unit for an ozone generator?

 

[sly]

I don't expect a lot of replies (if any) on this one... I may be one of the few here who use ozone...
Anyway I'm going to build my own dryer and post the results here for the archives. I just ordered 950mg of color changing silica gel off... well... you know where I got it from. :joy:

 

[my way]

You could make one from PVC and drill and glue as small length of rigid airline tubing to one cap to run to your Ozonizer and a small hole on the other end. The caps should fit tight enough that you would'nt have to glue them. To not have to "bake" the media too frequently you would have to make it a decent size, and keep it away from moisture IE, out of your cabinet away from the tank and sump. The only problem is you would have to crack it open now and again to check the colors of the beads. If you made it from clear PVC in order to see the silica, it might be cheaper to just buy a Dryer as clear PVC is pricy and most online sources make you buy about 5-10 ft. minimum.

 

[sly]

Thanks. I was thinking that I would have to make it out of a clear PVC tube and at that point I realised that this will probably cost as much as one I could buy... Then I had a second idea...
I can make one out of standard cheap PVC and then after that make a second smaller glass indicator tube downstream of the dryer. I have found a good spot where I can mount the dryer and keep it away from moisture... I have a glass fuel filter for a Holly carburetor that I never used... I can unscrew it and take out the filter and then fill it with color changing silica gel. When it turns pink then I know that it's time to bake it to dry it...
I read that the largest dryer that Coralife sells is a 500 gram dryer and it lasts about 3 weeks before needing drying... I bought 950 grams of silica gel for $19... I still may be able to do this cheaper (just a little) than one I could have bought and end up with one that lasts longer than anything avaliable.
Now I just need to get a new probe for my ORP meter... Hanna Instruments if anyone has one.

 

[my way]

If you do the filter (which is a cool idea, I know exactly what you are talking about) run it between the Ozonizer and the Air Dryer as this will dry the air before it gets to the filter, if you run it before the dryer it will change color first before you actually need to bake the media.
I got my media fro the ---- also. 5lbs. for $8.

 

[sly]

Originally Posted by My Way
I got my media fro the ---- also. 5lbs. for $8.
WoW! I wish I had found that deal... I could have made a dryer 8 feet long.

 

[sebae09]

like you said you can make it out of standard cheap PVC, the only suggestion i have is putting 3 clear viewing windows, im saying this because the silica at the begining of the pipe will need rechargeing quicker than the silica at the end of the pipe. good luck and post your results please.

 

[gsxr1100]

you do not need to use a dryer

 

[sly]

Actually, you do if you want to get the most out of your ozone unit. Exposure to moisture can reduce an ozonater's efficiency by about 50%. Also the moisture can react with the ozone to produce nitric acid.
I'm going today to get the stuff to make the dryer. I got my silica gel yesterday. :jumping:

 

[gsxr1100]

Dr. Randy Holmes-Farley did a test with and without. And the outcome was the the dryer does zero. So I removed mine.
The guy is very respected so I take his word as gold.

 

[my way]

There is more than one type of Ozonizer commercially available to the hobbiest. Did he test this on more than one Ozonizer? how long did he coduct this experiment for?
Also, the so called "experts" have been wrong more than once.

 

[gsxr1100]

I would do a search on his name and under whatever you want. It was a few months ago.
He is a dr, professional chemist and went to harvard. To me and about 20,000 people, his word is god.

 

[sly]

Originally Posted by gsxr1100
it is on ***. So I would do a search on his name and under whatever you want. It was a few months ago.
He is a dr, professional chemist and went to harvard. To me and about 20,000 people on --, his word is god.
The benefits of drying air on ozone productions are only seen when the dewpoint is reduced to about -30 degrees. Most if not all conventional dryers can not dry the air nearly that much. This is why most dryers do nothing and you might as well take them off... However below this humidity, ozone production doubles.
When ozone reacts with water and nitrogen in the air it releases nitric acid. This is of course bad for the tank and is why many people have to use activated carbon to absorb it. Have you ever heard that ozone can RAISE nitrates in a tank? Well this is why. Nitric acid reacts in the tank to form nitrate. Another side effect is that when ozone reacts to form nitric acid, you end up with less ozone to react with your tank water. Therefore the efficiency goes down.
Once you get the dew point humidity below -30 degrees, you will not have this problem. The dryer I built hopefully will achieve this. The key is contact time. Most dryers are short and fat so that they will fit under a tank. This means that the air passing through has very little reaction time with the silica gel to absorb moisture. Most silica gel dryers only dry the air to about 20 degrees dewpoint. The dryer from Red Sea holds 500mg of silica gel and is very fat and short. The dryer I just made holds 900mg of silica gel and is just over 7 feet long. This gives the air MUCH more reaction time in the chamber and therefore should dry the air much better than the dryers commercially avalible.
If I can get the dewpoint down to -30 degrees then the dryer will definitely be worth it.
Your professor from Harvard was right that air dryers are largely ineffective but he was wrong in not saying why. If a dryer is designed to lower the dewpoint of the air to the needed humidity, then the dryer is absolutely necessary to increase ozone production and to eliminate nitric acid production which can both poison the tank and corrode the ozone generator.
Sorry but I don't think that people are logical "gods" because they simply have credentials. A piece of paper (diploma) can lay still for anything you want to write on it... Thinking is free and anyone can do it. You don't need a license for that... :thinking:

 

[sly]

Here's what I came up with. I used a 7 foot PVC pipe 1 inch in diameter. I used screw on fittings so that I can empty the silica gel later on to recharge it. I used 1/4 inch barb fittings on each end of the tube so I could attach the airline tubing. Like I said, it all screws apart...
Air starts at the pump and goes through the dryer tube. Then it goes through a clear glass indicator that shows me the color change so I know when to recharge it. The clear glass indicator is nothing more than a fuel filter for a car. I took out the filter element and filled it up with silica gel. From there the dry air goes to the ozone unit.
From the ozone unit the air goes to the skimmer directly via an air stone. The ozone goes through the skimmer and then collects in the overflow cup. I drilled a hole in the overflow cup and attached the intake for my venturi there... This way my venturi is picking up the excess ozone and is recirculating it back through the skimmer for a second time. Finally all the ozone and air rise up through the lid on the skimmer which is filled with activated carbon. The carbon reacts with any left over ozone and neutralizes it so the house doesn't fill with ozone. Then I put a few activated carbon bags in the sump so that it would absorb any left over ozone, nitric acid and any other chemicals produced by the ozone reaction.

[EDIT] I forgot to mention how much this cost me... The silica gel was $25.90 including shipping. The PVC, all fittings and air line was $11.13. The fuel filter was about $5 for the indicater. All together it was $42.03.
Compare this to the Red Sea 500 gram dryer at $36 + $8 shipping= $44.
So the one I have is 900 gram and has FAR more reaction time and costs just a little less than the 500 gram Red Sea unit which doesn't even work good enough to justify its use. I'll try to do some actual humidity measurments on this drier to see what the humidity actually is. :joy:

 

[gsxr1100]

There is a post on ** that states it: I cannot link to it since it is not per SW rules.
Here is some FYI on him since again he is GOD in my eyes.
Publications
Please stay on topic if someone wants to research this guy they can. Thank you .

 

[gsxr1100]

16. Polyether-based bile acid sequestrants. Holmes-Farley, Stephen Randall; Huval, Chad Cori. U.S. 6,517,825; 2/11/2003.
17. Method of making phosphate-binding polymers for oral administration. Holmes-Farley, Stephen R.; Mandeville, W. Harry, III; Whitesides; George M. U.S. 6,509,013; 1/21/2003.
18. Combination therapy for treating hypercholesterolemia using a bile acid sequestrant polymer and a cholesterol-lowering agent. Huval, Chad Cori; Holmes-Farley, Stephen Randall; Petersen, John S.; Dhal, Pradeep K. U.S. 6,433,026; 8/13/2002.
19. Method for treating hypercholesterolemia with polyallylamine polymers. Holmes-Farley, Stephen Randall; Mandeville, W. Harry, III; Burke, Steven K.; Goldberg, Dennis I. , US 6,423,754; 7/23/2002.
20. Ionic polymers as anti-infective agents Mandeville, W. Harry, III; Neenan, Thomas X..; Holmes-Farley, Stephen Randall;, US 6,395,777; 5/28/2002.
21. Combination therapy for treating hypercholesterolemia and atherosclerosis. Huval, Chad Cori; Holmes-Farley, Stephen Randall; Petersen, John S.; Dhal, Pradeep K. U.S. 6,365,186; 4/2/2002.
22. Fat binding polymers. Jozefiak, T.; Holmes-Farley; S. R.; Mandeville, W. H., III; Huval; C. C.; Garigapati, V. R.; Shackett, K. K.; Concagh, D, US 6,299,868; 10/9/2001.
23. Polymers containing guanidinium groups as bile acid sequestrants. Dhal; P. K.; Holmes-Farley; S. R.; Petersen; J. S. US 6,294,163; 9/25/2001
24. Method for reducing oxalate. Holmes-Farley, S. R.; Mandeville, W. H., III.; US 6,281,252; 8/28/2001.
25. Combination therapy for treating hypercholestrolemia. Huval; C. C.; Holmes-Farley; S. R. ; Petersen; J. S.; Dhal; P. K. ; US 6,264,938; 7/24/2001.
26. Fat-binding polymers. Mandeville, W. H., III.; Whitesides, G. M.; Holmes-Farley, S. R.; US 6,264,937; 7/24/2001.
27. Method for treating hypercholesterolemia with unsubstituted polydiallylamine polymers. Huval; C. C.; Holmes-Farley; S. R. ; Petersen; J. S.; Dhal; P. K. ; US 6,248,318; 6/19/2001.
28. Process for removing bile salts from a patient and alkylated compositions therefore. Mandeville, W. H., III.; Holmes-Farley, S. R.; US 6,225,355; 5/1/2001.
29. Poly(diallylamine)-based bile acid sequestrants. Holmes-Farley, S. R.; Dhal, P. K.; Petersen, J. S.; US 6,203,785; 3/20/2001.
30. Polyether-Based Bile Acid Sequestrants. Holmes-Farley, S. R.; Huval, C. C.; US 6,190,649; 2/20/2001.
31. Method for reducing oxalate. Holmes-Farley, S. R.; Mandeville, W. H., III.; US 6,177,478; 1/23/2001.
32. Water-insoluble noncrosslinked bile acid sequestrants. Holmes-Farley, S. R.; Mandeville, W. H., III.; US 6,129,910; 10/10/2000.
33. Method for treating hypercholesterolemia with unsubstituted polydiallylamine polymers. Huval; C. C.; Holmes-Farley; S. R. ; Petersen; J. S.; Dhal; P. K. ; US 6,083,497; 7/4/2000.
34. Method of making phosphate-binding polymers for oral administration. Holmes-Farley, S. R.; Mandeville, W. H., III.; ; Whitesides, G. M. ; US 6,083,495; 7/4/2000.
35. Process for removing bile salts from a patient and alkylated compositions therefore. Mandeville, W. H., III.; Holmes-Farley, S. R.; US 6,066,678; 5/23/2000.

 

[gsxr1100]

36. Process for removing bile salts from a patient and compositions therefor. Mandeville, W. H., III.; Holmes-Farley, S. R.; US 6,060,517; 5/9/2000.
37. Ionic polymers as anti-infective agents. Mandeville, III; W. H; Neenan; T. X.; Holmes-Farley; S. R. US 6,034,129; 3/7/2000.
38. Method for reducing oxalate. Holmes-Farley, S. R.; Mandeville, W. H., III.; US 5,985,938; 11/16/99.
39. Process for removing bile salts from a patient and compositions therefor. Mandeville, W. H., III.; Holmes-Farley, S. R.; US 5,981,693; 11/9/99.
40. Hydrophobic sequestrant for cholesterol depletion. Mandeville, W. H., III.; Holmes-Farley; S. R.; Petersen; J. S.. US 5,969,090; 10/19/99.
41. Hydrophilic nonamine-containing and amine-containing copolymers and their use as bile acid sequestrants. Holmes-Farley; S. R.; Petersen; J. S.. US 5,929,184; 7/27/99.
42. Interpenetrating polymer networks for sequestration of bile acids. Mandeville, W. H., III.; Holmes-Farley, S. R.; Neenan; T. X.; Whitesides; G. M. US 5,925,379; 7/20/99.
43. Amine polymer sequestrant and method of cholesterol depletion. Mandeville, W. H., III.; Holmes-Farley, S. R.; US 5,919,832; 7/6/99.
44. Process for removing bile salts from a patient and compositions therefor. Mandeville, W. H., III.; Holmes-Farley, S. R.; US 5,917,007; 6/29/99.
45. Polyamine salt hydrophobic sequestrant for cholesterol depletion. Mandeville, W. H., III.; Holmes-Farley, S. R.; Petersen, J. S.; US 5,900,475; 5/4/99.
46. Process for removing bile salts from a patient and compositions therefor. Mandeville, W. H., III.; Holmes-Farley, S. R.; US 5,840,766; 11/24/98.
47. Preparation of polymeric sequestrants for bile acid salts. Mandeville, W. H., III.; Holmes-Farley, S. R.; US 5,703,188; 12/30/97.
48. Oral administration of iron-binding crosslinked amine polymers. Mandeville, W. H., III.; Holmes-Farley, S. R.; US 5,702,696; 12/30/97.
49. Alkylated amine polymers. Mandeville, W. H., III.; Holmes-Farley, S. R.; US 5,693,675; 12/2/97.
50. Method for removing bile salts from a patient with alkylated crosslinked amine polymers, and preparation of the polymers. Mandeville, W. H., III.; Holmes-Farley, S. R.; US 5,679,717; 10/21/97.
51. Phosphate-binding polymers for oral administration. Holmes-Farley, S. R.; Mandeville, W. H., III.; US 5,667,775; 9/16/97.
52. Ion-exchange process using highly crosslinked polymers for removing bile salts from a patient, preparation of the polymers, and compositions containing them. Mandeville, W. H., III.; Holmes-Farley, S. R.; US 5,624,963; 4/29/97.
53. Hydrophobic amine polymer sequestrant and method of cholesterol depletion. Mandeville, W. H., III.; Holmes-Farley, S. R.; Petersen, J. S.; US 5,618,530; 4/8/97.
54. Amine polymer sequestrant and method of cholesterol depletion. Mandeville, W. H., III.; Holmes-Farley, S. R.; US 5,607,669; 3/4/97.
55. Phosphate-binding polymers for oral administration. Holmes-Farley, S. R.; Mandeville, W. H., III.; US 5,496,545; 3/5/96.
56. Iron-binding polymers for oral administration. Mandeville, W. H., III.; Holmes-Farley, S. R.; US 5,487,888; 1/30/96.
57. Ultra-thin, uniform sol-gel coating of a substrate having active hydrogens on the surface. Holmes-Farley, S. R.; Yanyo, L. C.; US 5,175,027; 12/29/92.
58. Layered sol-gel coatings from organisilicon compounds. Holmes-Farley, S. R.; Yanyo, L. C.; US 5,182,143; 1/26/93.
59. Method for metal bonding using ultrathin primer coating. Holmes-Farley, S. R.; Yanyo, L. C.; Thuer, A. M.; US 5,139,601; 8/18/92.
60. Acrylic adhesive compositions. Holmes-Farley, S. R.; Abbey, K. J.; US 5,096,962; 3/17/92.
61. Modified halogenatedpolyolefin adhesives for polyolefin elastomer-metal bonding. Holmes-Farley, S. R.; US 5,102,956; 4/7/92.

 

[gsxr1100]

PUBLISHED PATENT APPLICATIONS (FOREIGN ISSUED ONLY OR NOT ISSUED)
1. Method for reducing copper levels and treating copper toxicosis. Holmes-Farley, Stephen Randall. (Geltex Pharmaceuticals, Inc., USA). PCT Int. Appl. (2002), 45 pp. WO 0285383.
2. Method for treating gout and binding uric acid. Holmes-Farley, Stephen Randall; Burke, Steven K. WO 0285381 10/31/2002.
3. Method for treating gout and reducing serum uric acid. Holmes-Farley, Stephen Randall; Burke, Steven K WO 0285380 10/31/2002.
4. Amine condensation polymer bile acid sequestrants. Huval, C. C.; Holmes-Farley, S. R.; Whitesides, G. M. WO 1999-US30469; 7/6/2000.
5. Continuous crosslinking of polymer gels. Mandeville, W. H., III and Holmes-Farley, S. R.; WO 1999-US5662; 9/23/1999.
6. Amine-containing copolymers as bile acid sequestrants. Holmes-Farley, S. R.; Petersen, J. S.; WO 9933452; 7/8/1999.
7. Polydiallylamine-based phosphate binders. Mandeville, W. H., III and Holmes-Farley, S. R.; WO 9922743; 5/14/1999.
8. Polyallylamine polymers for removing bile salts and treating hypercholesterolemia, and polymer preparation. Holmes-Farley, S. R.; Mandeville, W. H., III; Burke, S. K.; Goldberg, D. I.; WO 9857652; 12/23/98.
9. Phosphate-bidning polymers combined with a calcium supplement for oral administration. Goldberg, D. I.; Burke, S. K.; Mandeville, W. H., III; Holmes-Farley, S. R.; WO 9842355; 10/1/98.
10. Hydrophobic heteroatom-containing sequestrant for cholesterol depletion. Mandeville, W. H., III; Holmes-Farley, S. R.; Petersen, J. S.; WO 9639449; 12/12/96.
11. Process for adjusting ion concentration in a patient and compositions therefor. Mandeville, W. H., III; Holmes-Farley, S. R.; WO 9427619; 12/8/94.
12. Vacuum-deposited silver on polycarbonate with a chromium interlayer for improved metal-substrate adhesion. Holmes-Farley, S. R.; Ger. Offen. 4322512; 1/20/94.
13. Process for increased metal-substrate bond strength in metalized plastics. Holmes-Farley, S. R.; Ger. Offen. 4322516; 7/6/93.
14. Electrorheological fluids and preparation of particles useful in the fluids. Troughton, Barritt E., Jr.; Duclos, Theodore G.; Thuer, Anna Marie; Carlson, J. David; Bares, Joseph E.; Yanyo, Lynn C.; Farley, Stephen Randall Holmes; Acker, Debra Nell. EP 394049; 10/24/1990.
JOURNAL PUBLICATIONS
1. Hydroxamic acid-containing hydrogels for nonabsorbed iron chelation therapy: synthesis, characterization, and biological evaluation. Polomoscanik, Steven C.; Cannon, C. Pat; Neenan, Thomas X.; Holmes-Farley, S. Randall; Mandeville, W. Harry; Dhal, Pradeep K. Drug Discovery and Development, Genzyme Corporation, Waltham, MA, USA. Biomacromolecules (2005), 6(6), 2946-2953. Publisher: American Chemical Society.
2. Functional Polymers as Human Therapeutic Agents. Dhal, Pradeep K.; Huval, Chad C.; Holmes-Farley, S. Randall. Drug Discovery and Development, Genzyme Corporation, Waltham, MA, USA. Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research (2005), 44(23), 8593-8604. Publisher: American Chemical Society.
3. Design and synthesis of potent small molecule inhibitors of alpha-amylase. Li, Xinhua; Nijiar, Amarjit; Mishra, Abinash; Staveski, Mark; Asmussen, Gary; Booker, Michael; Burrier, Robert; Kloss, Alla; Holmes-Farley, Randy; Mandeville, Harry; Dhal, Pradeep. Drug Discovery and Development, Genzyme Corporation, Waltham, MA, USA. Abstracts of Papers, 228th ACS National Meeting, Philadelphia, PA, United States, August 22-26, 2004 (2004), MEDI-249.
r />
4. Molecularly imprinted bile acid sequestrants: synthesis and biological studies. Huval, Chad C.; Chen, Xi; Holmes-Farley, S. Randall; Mandeville, W. Harry; Polomoscanik, Steven C.; Sacchiero, Robert J.; Dhal, Pradeep K. Drug Discovery and Development, Genzyme Corporation, Waltham, MA, USA. Materials Research Society Symposium Proceedings (2004), Volume Date 2003, 787(Molecularly Imprinted Materials--2003), 85-90. Publisher: Materials Research Society.
5. Syntheses of hydrophobically modified cationic hydrogels by copolymerization of alkyl substituted diallylamine monomers and their use as bile acid sequestrants. Huval, Chad C.; Holmes-Farley, S. Randall; Mandeville, W. Harry; Sacchiero, Robert; Dhal, Pradeep K. Drug Discovery and Development, Genzyme Corporation, Waltham, MA, USA. European Polymer Journal (2004), 40(4), 693-701. Publisher: Elsevier Science B.V.,

 

[gsxr1100]

I could add his other 20 or some JOURNAL PUBLICATIONS and PUBLISHED PATENT APPLICATIONS
Nevermind the 62 CORAL REEF AQUARIA CHEMISTRY PUBLICATIONS (ON LINE).
So the guy is a GOD wth reef stuff BIGTIME! Hint hint...What he says is gold; along with 99.999% of the users on --.
I had 3 lbs of silicate beads in a water filter cart (home made). RH in house can be from 30% to over 75%; depaends on what I make it. It (dryer) had no benefit; Not using one did nothing to my tank, O3 levels, etc. It works jsut the same. SO I tossed the beads into the trash 6 months ago and have not looked back.
But if you use them have at it, lots of -- users dumped them also based on the "gods" study.

 

[sly]

I just did a test on the relative humidity of this dryer's output. I have an electronic hygrometer that unfortunately has a poor resolution at extremely low humidities.
I placed the electronic hygrometer in a sealed container and drilled a hole in the top and one in the bottom. I ran the air line from the dryer to the top hole in the container and I let it vent out of a small pin hole in the bottom. Dry air has a slight less density than humid air and so the idea is that the dry air would push the more humid and denser air out the bottom.
The room's relative humidity is currently at 28%. Within 5 minutes of being exposed to dry air, the hygrometer read 8% humidity. After 10 minutes it showed 0%. This hygrometer is not accurate below 5% and so I can only say that this dryer dries the air to better than 5% relative humidity. The room is currently 72 degrees F and the barometric pressure is currently 30.56" HG. This puts the dew point of the dryer at lower than -20 C.
At -20 C dew point, a corona discharge ozone unit produces ozone at an 80% efficienty. For comparison, at 0 C dew point, a corona discharge unit only produces ozone at a 50% efficiency. So this dryer design is AT LEAST allowing the ozone unit to operate at an 80% efficiency. I suspect that it is actually much higher.
In order to prove that I have higher ozone production I will have to take readings from an ORP meter and actually do a chlorine test because chlorides in salt water actually combine with ozone to produce small amounts of chlorine. I don't have time to do that now but I can say for sure that the air is definitely drier than air passed through a Red Sea unit. How much drier I can't say until I test the ozonizer's output.
Dew Point calculator: http://www.srh.noaa.gov/elp/wxcalc/rh.shtml
typical ozone rates for different humidities: http://www.lenntech.com/ozone/ozone-generation.htm