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Atmospheric
Gases :: Oxygen |
| Description |
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Oxygen, or O2, which comprises 21 percent of the earth's
atmosphere, supports life and makes combustion possible. The most
abundant of all elements on earth, oxygen comprises 85 percent of its
oceans and, as a component of most rocks and minerals, 46 percent of
its solid crust. In addition, it constitutes 60 percent of the human
body.
Colorless, odorless
and tasteless, oxygen has poor solubility in water. A specific gravity
of 1.105 makes it slightly heavier than air. When cooled to its
boiling point of -297°F (-183°C), oxygen becomes a transparent, pale
blue liquid that is slightly heavier than water.
Oxygen reacts with all
elements, except inert gases, to form compounds called oxides. The
rate of reaction - known as oxidation - varies. For example, magnesium
oxidizes very rapidly, igniting spontaneously in air. However, noble
metals, such as gold and platinum, oxidize only at very high
temperatures.
Although oxygen itself
is nonflammable, it enhances combustion and enables all materials that
are flammable in air to burn much more vigorously. These
combustion-supporting properties account for its use in many
industrial applications.
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| Applications
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Argon
is used in diverse applications covering a number of 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 feedstock 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 fore hearths, reducing
nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions to levels below new stringent
requirements of the U.S. Clean Air Act.
- 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 feedstock; 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. USW's experience in gases and combustion help utilities
improve boiler performance, efficiency and the environment.
- Waste water treatment because it supports life, oxygen is used in
industrial and municipal wastewater treatment facilities. Using 90
to 99 percent oxygen instead of air boosts the biological activity
required to eliminate wastes in water. And, with a 90+ percent
utilization rate, oxygen provides an efficient and economical way
for industrial complexes to meet U.S. Clean Air Act and Clean
Water Act requirements.
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| Supply
Options |
- Bulk liquid delivery in trailer trucks
- Bulk gas delivery in tube trailer trucks
- Portable cryogenic cylinders
- High pressure cylinders
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