Accelerated hydrogen peroxide, or AHP, is a blend of hydrogen peroxide with other ingredients. This blend can increase the germicidal effects of hydrogen peroxide significantly, making it highly effective as a multi-purpose disinfectant.
AHP are patented combinations of ingredients, with different, unique formulations. One such formulation is Oxyl-Pro. Oxyl-Pro uses hydrogen peroxide stabilised with food-safe ingredients which does not contain silver or other heavy metals.
The key quality of AHP formulations is that they combine low levels of hydrogen peroxide with safe ingredients, such as:
- Surface acting agents
- Wetting agents, and
- Chelating agents.
Surface acting agents, or surfactants, are compounds that lower the surface tension between two liquids. These versatile products are molecules that are amphiphilic. This means the air-water interface absorbs them, causing the decrease in surface tensions.
Wetting agents help liquid substances spread across and more easily penetrate surfaces you apply them to.
Chelating agents help reduce water hardness and metal content.
The ingredients blended with hydrogen peroxide then produce a disinfectant and cleaner that is highly efficient and effective, but is also safe.
Disinfectants that are accelerated hydrogen peroxides leave no residues on surfaces, simply degrading to oxygen and water. They are normally non-irritating.
What Are the Uses of AHP?
Accelerated hydrogen peroxide formulations are the basis for multi-purpose disinfectants.
At low hydrogen peroxide concentrations, AHP formulations are excellent disinfectants for environmental surfaces, and for non-critical equipment and machinery.
At slightly higher concentrations, you can use AHP as a high-level disinfectants.
Here are the main applications of AHP:
- Water treatment – for preventing legionella, pseudomonas and other bacteria developing in water supplies by removing biofilm from essential pipework
- Hand and surface disinfectant – effective protection against bacteria and all enveloped viruses, and against Coronavirus
- Agriculture and horticulture – for irrigation and other water systems to ensure plant health, and for equipment and surfaces
- Livestock – for drinking systems and surfaces, to keep animals and their housing free from harmful bacteria
- Leisure – protecting facilities as a disinfectant in gyms, leisure centres, swimming pools, as well as bars and restaurants
- Food and drink – ideal for CIP (clean-in-place), fogging applications and disinfection of hard surfaces
- Shipping – disinfecting on-board drinking water supplies, tanks and hard surfaces.
Accelerated hydrogen peroxide formulations can use different concentrations of hydrogen peroxide, depending on the intended end-application.
What this demonstrates is how versatile these formulations are for use in a broad variety of industries and sectors.
How is AHP Different from Regular Hydrogen Peroxide?
The chemical compound hydrogen peroxide, H2O2, inhibits bacterial growth and is effective against a wide range of microorganisms.
It reacts rapidly when you add it to water, releasing free radicals, which attack and decompose pollutants. The microorganisms it is effective against include bacteria, yeasts, fungi and spores.
In its pure form, H2O2 is pale blue in colour, and has antiseptic, oxidising and bleaching qualities.
However, pure hydrogen peroxide is also unstable, due to its peroxide bond, and decomposes in light. Therefore, it is commonly available as a solution diluted with water, typically in concentrations of 3% to 6%.
In this form, it is a widely-used cleaning and bleaching agent. At higher concentrations, it is used in laboratories and has other commercial and industrial applications.
Although regular hydrogen peroxide is an effective disinfectant, and an alternative to chlorine bleach, it is less effective against bacteria where catalase is present. If it comes into contact with other molecules that have not been cleaned prior to use, it may also be less effective as a disinfectant.
The key difference with accelerated hydrogen peroxide is that with AHP the formulation is less active but more effective as a rapid, multi-purpose disinfectant and cleaner.
AHP transforms hydrogen peroxide into a broad-spectrum germicide and sanitiser, while ensuring that it is technically low-level, and therefore safe for use across a wide range of applications.
The combination of chemicals in accelerated hydrogen peroxide works to provide exceptional cleaning efficiency and boosts the antimicrobial speed of the formulation, while broadening its effectiveness.
Oxyl-Pro, for example, is stabilised using an encapsulation process, which means it reacts with catalase, destroying it. This makes Oxyl-Pro highly effective against the vast majority of gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria, including legionella and pseudomonas.
Is Accelerated Hydrogen Peroxide a Good Disinfectant?
AHP physically removes microorganisms, and cleans surfaces meticulously. This includes foreign materials such as organic matter, which could act as spawning grounds for pathogenic microorganisms.
It also operates effectively with short contact times, making the whole disinfectant procedure more efficient.
This balance between its germicidal effectiveness and its rapid action makes accelerated hydrogen peroxide a versatile disinfectant, for use across a broad range of industries, sectors and applications.
It is free of any volatile organic compounds (VOCs).
Once it dries on a surface, AHP leaves nothing behind. It simply degrades harmlessly to oxygen and water.
This is also beneficial when it comes to using disinfectant for animal hygiene purposes, since it means AHP will not cause any harm to livestock when used to disinfect drinking water or animal pens and housing. It leaves no taste and is fragrance-free.
AHP is also better for controlling biofilm.
Removing and controlling biofilm in water systems is essential for protecting water supplies from bacterial growth.
Both chlorine dioxide and regular hydrogen peroxide can help remove biofilm, but both can create long-term hazards or damage to pipework.
Accelerated hydrogen peroxide formulations, such as Oxyl-Pro, however, will remove and prevent the growth of biofilm without being hazardous, while acting quickly and capably.
Where Can You Use Accelerated Hydrogen Peroxide?
AHP has a wide spectrum of applications, proving very effective as a disinfectant of water supplies and surfaces.
For disinfecting livestock water, for example, AHP is a stable decontamination agent with a rapid action.
But it is effective in multiple areas too, including the disinfection of surfaces to prevent bacterial infection and livestock diseases.
As well as on the farm and across the agricultural and horticultural sectors, AHP also serves other industries, such as:
- Leisure and hospitality
- Shipping
- Food and drink
In its various formulations, you can use it directly on surfaces, fogged or sprayed into the air, or add it to water supplies to keep pipework clean and biofilm-free.
It is truly a multi-purpose antibacterial disinfectant and cleaning agent.
For more information about our next generation disinfectant, Oxyl-Pro, please complete our contact form, call us on +44 1606 851 782, or email enquiries@oxylpro.com