# Oxygen

Separated from air by cooling it to liquid, oxygen makes steel, gasifies coal, keeps patients alive and costs mostly electricity.

Source page: https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/oxygen/

Commodity chemicals · Industrial gases · No. 14

- Single chemical
- Feedstock: Air
- about 400 Mt a year (2023)
- 0.1 t CO₂e per t
- HS 280440
 Commodity chemicals · Industrial gases · Foundation · Matter

In 2021 India lifted medical oxygen output 70% in nine months by diverting gas from steel plants to hospitals.

Chart: Illustration: Oxygen

##### Where it comes from

Chart: Map of where it comes from

Oxygen is 21% of air; air separation units chill air to about -185 C and distil out oxygen, nitrogen and argon together.

##### Three things to know

1. About 400 Mt of oxygen is made a year, more than any chemical except sulphuric acid, mostly next to steel mills.
2. Separating a tonne takes roughly 200-300 kWh, against a theoretical minimum of just 51 kWh, so power dominates the cost.
3. In India, Linde (26%) and INOX Air Products (25%) hold half the commercial gases market.

##### The journey

1. 1 **Air intake**Filtered and compressed to 5-6 bar
2. 2 **Purification**Sieves strip water and CO2
3. 3 **Cryogenic distillation**Cooled to -185 C and separated
4. 4 **Pipeline**Piped over the fence to steelworks
5. 5 **Liquid delivery**Trucked at -183 C to hospitals
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##### Go deeper pick a tab to open it in full

## Other sections

- [Overview](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/oxygen/overview/index.md)
- [Correlation](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/oxygen/correlation/index.md)
- [Production route](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/oxygen/routes/index.md)
- [Production](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/oxygen/production/index.md)
- [Feedstocks](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/oxygen/feedstocks/index.md)
- [Cycles](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/oxygen/cycles/index.md)
- [Trading](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/oxygen/trading/index.md)
- [Movement](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/oxygen/movement/index.md)
- [Regulation](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/oxygen/regulation/index.md)
- [Characteristics](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/oxygen/characteristics/index.md)
- [Emissions](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/oxygen/emissions/index.md)
- [Relationships](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/oxygen/links/index.md)