PROCESS FOR DISINFECTING HOT WATER SUPPLY SYSTEMS

In the proposed process for the ozone treatment of hot water in the hot water supply system of a building for the purpose of disinfection, the hot water is led into a treatment tank (3) in which the pressure is reduced to a level below that in the pipes of the hot water supply system, while an ozone-containing gas is passed continually through the water in the form of bubbles so that the ozone is given up to the water. The remaining gas then undergoes transition to a gas phase in the upper section of the vessel from which the gas is removed. The water thus treated is then fed into the building's hot water supply system, the pressure being restored by means of at least one pump (22) to the level of the operating pressure within the hot water supply system. The proposed process can be used to remove harmful microorganisms such as legionella pneumophila from hospital hot water systems without raising the temperature to around 70 DEG C.