Oxygen (O2) is an active, life-sustaining component of the atmosphere; making up 20.94% by volume or 23% by weight of the air we breathe. It is colorless, odorless and tasteless.
Oxygen is the most widely occurring element on Earth. Because it forms compounds with virtually all chemical elements except the noble gases, most terrestrial oxygen is bound with other elements in compounds such as silicates, oxides, and water. Oxygen is also dissolved in rivers, lakes, and oceans. Molecular oxygen occurs almost entirely in the atmosphere.
Oxygen is highly oxidizing (a general chemical term applying to any substance, like oxygen, that accepts electrons from another substance during reaction). Oxygen reacts vigorously with combustible materials, especially in its pure state, releasing heat in the reaction process. Many reactions require the presence of water or are accelerated by a catalyst.
Ozone (O3) is an allotropic form of oxygen that is more reactive than ordinary oxygen. Ozone is formed in nature by electrical discharges or by irradiation with ultraviolet light. Commercial ozone generators mimic these natural process to make large amounts for industrial and environmental treatment processes or add a small amount of ozone to breathing air for its invigorating effect and "fresh air" scent.
Oxygen has a low boiling/ condensing point: -297.3°F (-183°C). The gas is approximately 1.1 times heavier than air and is slightly soluble in water and alcohol. Below its boiling point, oxygen is a pale blue liquid slightly heavier than water.
Oxygen is the second-largest volume industrial gas. Aside from its chemical name O2, oxygen may be referred to as GOX or GO when produced and delivered in gaseous form, or as LOX or LO when in its cryogenic liquid form.
Oxygen is produced in large quantities and at high purity as a gas or liquid by cryogenic distillation and as a lower purity gas (typically about 93%) by adsorption technologies (pressure swing adsorption, abbreviated as PSA, or vacuum-pressure swing adsorption, abbreviated as VPSA or more simply, VSA).
Oxygen is valued for its reactivity. Oxygen is commonly used, with or instead of air, to increase the amount of oxygen available for combustion or biological activity. This increases reaction rates and leads to greater throughput in existing equipment and smaller sizes for new equipment.
Oxygen has numerous uses in steelmaking and other metals refining and fabrication processes, in chemicals, pharmaceuticals, petroleum processing, glass and ceramic manufacture, and pulp and paper manufacture. It is used for environmental protection in municipal and industrial effluent treatment plants and facilities. Oxygen has numerous uses in healthcare, both in hospitals, outpatient treatment centers and home use. For some uses, such as effluent treatment and pulp and paper bleaching, oxygen is converted to ozone (O3), an even more reactive form, to enhance the rate of reaction and to ensure the fullest possible oxidation of undesired compounds.
Properties:
English Units Normal Boiling Point
(1 atm) Gas Phase Properties
@ 32°F & @1 atm Liquid Phase Properties
@ B P& @ 1 atm Triple Point Critical Point
Temp. Latent Heat of Vaporization Specific Gravity Specific Heat (Cp) Density Specific Gravity Specific Heat (Cp) Temp. Pressure Temp. Pressure Density
Substance Chemical
Symbol Mol.
Weight ° F BTU/lb Air = 1 BTU/lb °F lb/cu. ft Water = 1 BTU/lb °F °F psia °F psia lb/cu ft
Oxygen O2 32.00 -297.3 91.7 1.113 0.2197 0.089212 1.14 0.4058 -361.8 0.02147 -181.43 731.4 27.22
Metric Units Boiling Point
@ 101.325 kPa Gas Phase Properties
@ 0° C & @ 101.325 kPa Liquid Phase Properties
@ B.P., & @ 101.325 kPa Triple Point Critical Point
Temp. Latent Heat of Vaporization Specific Gravity Specific Heat (Cp) Density Specific Gravity Specific Heat (Cp) Temp. Pressure Temp. Pressure Density
Substance Chemical
Symbol Mol.
Weight °C kJ/kg Air = 1 kJ/kg ° C kg/m3 Water = 1 kJ/kg ° C °C kPa abs ° C kPa abs kg/m3
Oxygen O2 32.00 -182.96 213.0 1.113 0.9191 1.429 1.14 1.669 -218.8 0.148 -188.57 5043 436.1
Oxygen (O2) Applications and Uses:
Multi-Industry Uses for Oxygen:
Oxygen is used with fuel gases in gas welding, gas cutting, oxygen scarfing, flame cleaning, flame hardening, and flame straightening.
In gas cutting, the oxygen must be of high quality to ensure a high cutting speed and a clean cut.
Metals Manufacturing Uses for Oxygen:
The largest user of oxygen is the steel industry. Modern steelmaking relies heavily on the use of oxygen to enrich air and increase combustion temperatures in blast furnaces and open hearth furnaces as well as to replace coke with other combustible materials. During the steel making process, unwanted carbon combines with oxygen to form carbon oxides, which leave as gases. Oxygen is fed into the steel bath through a special lance. Oxygen is used to