Liquid Oxygen

Facts about Liquid Oxygen

Liquid Oxygen is mainly used for applications in the gaseous form.

Oxygen gas is colourless, odourless, tasteless and occurs naturally. The main source of oxygen in nature is as a constituent of air, which is approximately 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen and 0.9% argon by volume.

It has a boiling point of -183°C and a melting point of -218.8°C.

Oxygen will not burn but supports combustion and is a strong oxidiser as it reacts violently with other materials to produce oxides.

As an oxidising agent oxygen will react with all elements (except the noble gases) to form oxides. Oxygen also reacts violently with oil, grease and solvents.

Oxygen is generally considered non-toxic at atmospheric pressures. However enrichment and deficency of oxygen levels have serious implications on the environment.

Click here for more information on oxygen enrichment and deficiencies

Materials not normally considered flammable may be ignited by sparks in an oxygen rich atmosphere - this is particularly important to remember when working in confined spaces with oxygen.

Link to Liquid Oxygen Safety Data Sheet

Applications of Liquid Oxygen

At ambient temperature oxygen supports life and gives rise to applications associated with breathing for humans, animals and micro-organisms.

Some of the applications include:

Medical
Water Treatment
Fish Farming
Fermentation

At elevated temperatures, oxygen vigorously supports the combustion of many sustances. This property has led to many applications including:

Oxy-Fuel Cutting
Blast Furnaces

Liquid Oxygen can also be used as a chemical reactant for catalytic and non-catalytic oxidation mainly in the hydrocarbon and chemical processing industries. One of the main applications is:

Laser cutting of mild steel

Please Note:

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