Liquid oxygen (LOX) is used in various industries due to its numerous advantages. Before talking about its uses, let’s first discuss a bit about its properties and how it is made. LOX is a cryogenic liquid which is defined as any liquefied gas in a liquid state at a very low temperature.
Moreover, cryogenic liquids have boiling points below -150 degree Celsius and they are gases under normal temperature and pressures. However, it is important to note that these gases turn into gases under different conditions of temperature and pressure.
And, all these gases have one common property that they are very cold and they can grow into very large volumes of gas. Liquid oxygen plants use cryogenic distillation process for generating LOX.
Liquid oxygen applications
LOX is molecular oxygen frozen to cryogenic temperature. It is used in various industries including aerospace, submarine and gas industries. Liquid oxygen was used as an oxidizer in the first liquid fueled rocket in 1926.
It is used in various hospitals as it is store liquid oxygen at very low temperature. Liquid oxygen can be stored in vessels and tanks. Liquid oxygen is converted into medical oxygen gas at normal temperature for the patients to breathe. In the hospitals, the converted medical oxygen is moved around through a gas pipeline.
Amongst the applications of liquid oxygen, we see that LOX is used in basic oxygen process (BOP). Firstly, LOX is turned into a gas with a liquid oxygen pump. Then, we pour pure oxygen into a bath of molten blast-furnace iron and scrap.
With the help of oxygen, a series of heat-releasing reactions are set into motion. Moreover, it also causes oxidation of impurities such as silicon, phosphorous and carbon.
Liquid oxygen safety tips
Liquid oxygen can cause a variety of hazards including the following:
For handling liquid oxygen you must follow standards safety tip provided in a manual for liquid oxygen plant. Firstly, you must ensure that your cryogenic systems come fitted with pressure-relief devices. It is imperative that you should not use a system without the pressure-relief device.
And, you must observe precaution using cryogenic liquids in well-ventilated areas to prevent vapor accumulation.
