| Chemical properties of Oxygen |
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Comprises 20.94% by volume of the atmosphere
Colorless, odorless and tasteless
Liquid : Pale blue
Heavier than air
Slightly soluble in water and alcohol
Supports combustion, highly oxidizing
Itself is nonflammable, but reacts vigorously with combustible materials and can cause fire or explosion
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| Physical properties of Oxygen |
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Boiling Point at 1atm
Freezing Point at 1atm
Density of the gas at 21.1° and 1atm
| -182.96°
-218.78°
1.429 kg/m3 |
| Production of Oxygen |
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Oxygen, the second-largest volume industrial gas, is produced commercially as a gas or as a liquid by several methods. These include:
| » | Cryogenic Air separation, a process that compresses and
cools atmospheric air, then, - relying on different boiling points - separates the resulting liquid into its components in a distillation column |
| » | Vacuum Pressure Swing Adsorption (VPSA), a non-cryogenic technology that produces oxygen from air by using an adsorbent in a pressure swing process to remove nitrogen |
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| Supply mode of Oxygen |
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Customers can obtain the oxygen they need through a variety of supply options, including:
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| Uses of Oxygen |
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Oxygen is used in diverse applications covering many industries, including:
| » | Steel Manufacturing ... to enrich air and increase combustion temperatures in blast and open hearth furnaces; to raise steel temperatures and enhance recycling of scrap metal in electric arc furnaces; and to replace coke as the combustible in steel making. |
| » | Chemical Processing ... to alter the structure of feedstocks through oxidation, producing nitric acid, ethylene oxide, propylene oxide, vinyl chloride monomer and other building block chemicals; and to increase capacity and destruction efficiency of waste incinerators. |
| » | Pulp and Paper ... to help manufacturers meet stringent environmental regulations in a variety of mill processes including delignification, bleaching, oxidative extraction, chemical recovery, white/black liquor oxidation and lime kiln enrichment. |
| » | Metal Production ... to replace or enrich air, increasing combustion temperatures in ferrous and non-ferrous metals production; to create a hot flame in high-temperature welding torches used in cutting and welding. |
| | Metal Fabrication ... to support oxyfuel cutting operations. Sometimes added in small quantities for shielding gases. |
| | Glass Manufacturing ... to enhance combustion in glass furnaces and forehearths, reducing nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions to levels below new stringent requirements of the U.S. Clean Air Ac. |
| | Petroleum Recovery and Refining ... to reduce viscosity and improve flow in oil and gas wells; to increase capacity of fluid catalytic cracking plants as well as to facilitate use of heavier feedstocks, and to reduce sulfur emissions in refineries. |
| | Health Services ... to resuscitate or, in combination with other gases, to anesthetize; but also essential to life-support systems used in emergencies or long-term treatment of patients with respiratory disorders. |
| | Utilities ... to convert coal to electricity for power generation. |
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