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Tulsa Jail will stay clean, save green with new ozone laundry system
Published: 7/15/2012 2:21 AM
Last Modified: 7/15/2012 4:22 AM
The Tulsa County Sheriff's Office operates the facility - feeding, clothing and caring for each inmate.
That's thousands and thousands of meals prepared, thousands and thousands of uniforms issued and countless loads of wash tumbling daily in washing machines in the jail's laundry room.
"I guarantee you, we're the largest laundromat in town," Undersheriff Tim Albin said.
And now, thanks to a federal stimulus grant, the jail is one of the largest laundromats around using an ozone laundry system.
The new system uses ozone - a less stable form of oxygen - as the primary cleaning agent, nearly eliminating the need for hot water and sharply reducing the use of detergent. Reducing detergent use also cuts down on overall water use because less rinsing is needed.
Bill Kimmel, president of RJ Kool in Kansas City, Mo., which sold the new laundry system to the jail, said hot water use will be reduced by 90 percent to 95 percent per load and overall use by about 30 percent.
"With a 100-pound washer, that's 161 gallons of hot water per load, and we're going to take it to about 24 gallons," Kimmel said.
The ozone laundry system works by gathering oxygen out of the air and running it through a concentrator, turning it to 95 percent pure oxygen. The pure oxygen is then fed into a generator, where it is electrically charged, turning the oxygen into ozone.
"Because it is unstable, that is why it is such a powerful oxidant - it's cleaning and disinfecting," Kimmel said.
He compared the cleaning process that takes place in the ozone washing system to what happens during a thunderstorm.
"Ozone is formed when lightning strikes," he said. "The fresh smell after a thunderstorm is residual ozone.
"Ozone is a fantastic deodorizer as well as a disinfectant."
The county used $64,313 in federal stimulus funds to buy the new ozone injector system, along with a new washer and dryer.
When fully operational, the ozone injector system will serve four washing machines - three old machines and the new one.
Linda Dorrell, the county's purchasing director, said the ozone washing system was one of the recommendations that came out of the county's energy audit.
"It's part of the county's overall energy conservation plans," she said. "One of the other areas we're working on right now is a lighting retrofit at Social Services, and of course, we have finished the solar panel installation at Chandler Park."
The ozone washing system is projected to save $10,380 a year in energy and water costs, Dorrell said.
Published: 7/15/2012 2:21 AM
Last Modified: 7/15/2012 4:22 AM
The David L. Moss Criminal Justice Center - commonly known as the Tulsa Jail - is a small town of its own, with more than 30,000 inmates a year passing through the heavy doors.
The Tulsa County Sheriff's Office operates the facility - feeding, clothing and caring for each inmate.
That's thousands and thousands of meals prepared, thousands and thousands of uniforms issued and countless loads of wash tumbling daily in washing machines in the jail's laundry room.
"I guarantee you, we're the largest laundromat in town," Undersheriff Tim Albin said.
And now, thanks to a federal stimulus grant, the jail is one of the largest laundromats around using an ozone laundry system.
The new system uses ozone - a less stable form of oxygen - as the primary cleaning agent, nearly eliminating the need for hot water and sharply reducing the use of detergent. Reducing detergent use also cuts down on overall water use because less rinsing is needed.
Bill Kimmel, president of RJ Kool in Kansas City, Mo., which sold the new laundry system to the jail, said hot water use will be reduced by 90 percent to 95 percent per load and overall use by about 30 percent.
"With a 100-pound washer, that's 161 gallons of hot water per load, and we're going to take it to about 24 gallons," Kimmel said.
The ozone laundry system works by gathering oxygen out of the air and running it through a concentrator, turning it to 95 percent pure oxygen. The pure oxygen is then fed into a generator, where it is electrically charged, turning the oxygen into ozone.
"Because it is unstable, that is why it is such a powerful oxidant - it's cleaning and disinfecting," Kimmel said.
He compared the cleaning process that takes place in the ozone washing system to what happens during a thunderstorm.
"Ozone is formed when lightning strikes," he said. "The fresh smell after a thunderstorm is residual ozone.
"Ozone is a fantastic deodorizer as well as a disinfectant."
The county used $64,313 in federal stimulus funds to buy the new ozone injector system, along with a new washer and dryer.
When fully operational, the ozone injector system will serve four washing machines - three old machines and the new one.
Linda Dorrell, the county's purchasing director, said the ozone washing system was one of the recommendations that came out of the county's energy audit.
"It's part of the county's overall energy conservation plans," she said. "One of the other areas we're working on right now is a lighting retrofit at Social Services, and of course, we have finished the solar panel installation at Chandler Park."
The ozone washing system is projected to save $10,380 a year in energy and water costs, Dorrell said.
