ClO2 Comparison vs. Other Sanitation Methods (1)
2017-10-19
Name Item | Chlorine Dioxide (Clo2) | Sodium Hypochlorite/ Calcium Hypchlorite | Ozone | Phenol |
Efficacy | High | Moderate | High | High |
Microbial Range | Broad spectrum effective against all bacteria, viruses, mold, fungi, and algae, including spore-formers like Giardia and Cryptosporidium | Relatively ineffective against most viruses, molds, fungi and spore-formers | Broad spectrum effective against all types of microorganisms, including spore-forming types | Effective against most Microorganisms except certain spore-formers such as Giardia |
Contact Time | Few seconds to few minutes | Usually minutes to hours | Seconds to minutes | Minutes to an hour or more depending on target organism |
Concen-tration | 0.1 ppm - 100 ppm | 1000 ppm to % range | 0.1 ppm - 10 ppm | 100 ppm to % range |
PH | Neutral | Alkaline | Neutral | Mildly acidic to neutral |
Corrosiveness | Negligible at use concentration | Corrosive to iron and aluminum products | May be marginally corrosive to iron and some grades of stainless steel at Higher concentrations | Higher concentrations tend to be more acidic and cause corrosion to iron and certain grades of stainless steel |
Toxicity | Negligible at use concentration. Prolonged exposure to high concentrations can produce skin and respiratory irritation | Alkaline compounded products are highly corrosive to tissues. They may produce chlorinated by-products such as chloroform, etc | Probably negligible at use concentrations | Extremely toxic. Chronic exposure can lead to kidney, liver and neurological damage. Highly regulated by OSHA |
Bio-degradable | High for reactive chemicals and typical byproducts | Moderate for bleach itself. Low for chlorinated by-products | High | Relatively low |
Other Applications | Drinking and wastewater disinfection, deodorization and chemical oxidation | Deodorizer and wastewater treatment. Restricted applications in drinking water sanitation | Primarily used for drinking water and wastewater disinfection with some chemical oxidation applications | Use limited to surface sanitizers and as an active ingredient in sanitizer lubricant formulations |
Cost | Moderate | Low | Very high | Moderately high |
Other Comments | Does not form chlorinated by-products, e.g. chloroform, chlorophenois, or trichloromethane | Shelf life and stability are poor. Odor and baleaching effects can be a problem | Powerful chemical oxidant and biocide. Highly reactive, affording no residual protection | Phenol is also a Class 1 RCRA hazardous waste which must be disposed of by incineration |