Abstract: A device for generating ozone from oxygen-containing gases by a silent discharge includes an arrangement with at least one gap through which the gas flows. The arrangement includes an electrode and a dielectric that separates the gap from another electrode. The gap is filled up with an electrically and thermally conductive gas-permeable arrangement that is in electrical and thermal contact with the adjacent electrode and that the oxygen-containing gas flows through. The gas-permeable arrangement includes a multiplicity of discharge spaces wherein the oxygen-containing gas is exposed to a high field strength and converted into ozone, and the reaction heat occurring in the gap is dissipated to the adjacent electrode by the electrically and thermally conductive gas-permeable arrangement.

Abstract: The process serves for treating water polluted with pollutants which can only be degraded with difficulty by purely biological means. The water is circulated through a reactor vessel arrangement (24) in which it is treated with ozone which causes a preliminary oxidation of the pollutants. The water passes into a vessel arrangement 8 containing an aerobic biological treatment which, owing to the preliminary oxidation of the pollutants, is able to degrade these further. The water is conducted in a main circuit I and a part-circuit II branched off therefrom.