Ozone is O3, or a molecule containing 3 oxygen atoms.
I was in water treatment for 30+ years. We never used it because we were industrial level water treatment and Ozone would have been too expensive.
Ozone has a very short half life and can’t easily be stored, so it has to be generated on the spot. It is generated by use of electricity (several different methods). High electric usage.
We used Chlorine which is less expensive.
Ozone kills Algae and Bacteria because it is highly corrosive.
It’s benefit is that its by-products are all natural and biodegradable.
It’s draw backs are that it is expensive and the equipment doesn’t last long (at least the last time I looked in to it)
Serious question -- because you seem to know this stuff, and I certainly do not --
I breathe O2. I absorb it into my body and it allows me to live. If I breathe too much carbon monoxide (O1 if you will) I will die. I am not sure but I think I will also die if I breathe too much ozone (O3). So it's O2 for me or else I'm in trouble.
I imagine that the same is somewhat true for algae.
If the article had basically said "Ozone kills algae" I would have accepted that immediately. But the article didn't say that. The article said "nano bubbles burst and this kills the algae".
That just seems like a stupid thing to say. And it wasn't an ignorant journalist saying it. This was the "expert" from the EPA. At the very least, I think the concept was poorly explained with too much emphasis on bubbles and not enough emphasis on the effects of ozone. Would you agree with that?
I used an ozone system when I worked in a dialysis clinic to disinfect the water lines. It worked but it was hard to maintain a high enough concentration.
We went back to chlorine which always works.
I now maintain pools.
Why not a salt chlorination system? They work very well.