Modelling the efficiency of ozone disinfection in a bubble column was completed using two kinetic approaches: an axial dispersion model (ADM) and a back-flow cell model (BFCM). Using these models, the effects of flow directions and mixing on disinfection performance were examined. Both models predicted the concentration profiles of dissolved ozone in water equally well. However, the BFCM could be solved much more easily than the ADM with regard to the degree of inactivation without the solution being plagued by divergence.