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fyzygy

Anions, cations, negative ions ... huh?

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A while back I invested in a humidifier for indoor plants, because somebody on Gardening Australia (a guest presenter specialising in indoor plants) recommended one. The one I ended up getting ($50 delivered from eBay, 4L capacity) has an "anion" feature. Which I guess means, negative ion generator? The plants don't seem to mind it one bit. In fact they seem to love it. But I wonder, is ozone a byproduct of this anion feature? 

 

I'm hoping someone here with better knowledge of chemistry can shed some light. 

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You're correct on anions being negatively charged ions, while cations are positively charged ions. 


 

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 most air ionizers on the market work by generating a large voltage difference across some volume of air  – a method that produces ozone in varying degrees

 

Consumer Reports tested five popular ionizing air purifiers and found them to produce more than 50 ppb (parts per billion) of ozone near the machine.

 

...some ionizers on the market do attempt to reduce their ozone output. 

 

 

Air Purifiers: Ionic and Ionizers, Are They Bad for You? - Molekule Blog

It seems ozone might have some detrimental effects on plant growth see: CO2 Science

 

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...air purifiers do help plants grow, as they remove air pollutants from the air which can otherwise limit the amount of food a plant can make through the process of photosynthesis. Not all air purifier types help plants grow, some can actually harm them. Ozone generators and other types of air purifiers that release ozone are not helpful for plant growth. On the contrary, they are actually quite bad for plants. This is because of negative ozone properties, which have adverse effects on all living things, plants included.

 

Do Air Purifiers Help Plants Grow? Can They Be Bad For Plants? (ionizerhub.com)

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Thanks Alchemica, I ended up contacting the manufacturer (Taotronics) who assured me: 

Quote

 

Please don't worry, the “anion” mode on this machine won't produce ozone.

 

 

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