Oxygen cylinder :Why is oxygen from the air not directly injected into the cylinder?
Oxygen cylinder , The oxygen is very important for human life. It is impossible to imagine the life of any human or animal without oxygen gas. The oxygen level must be adequate for human survival. But the question is, when oxygen gas is present in the atmosphere, then why is it not being filled in cylinders?
Oxygen gas is essential for human life. You may remember that time 3 years ago when there was a demand for crores of oxygen cylinders due to the Covid pandemic. Now the question is why we cannot replenish the oxygen gas present in the atmosphere in cylinders. First of all, what is required to make oxygen gas?
In medical terms, oxygen is legally an essential medicine, which was included in the country’s list of essential medicines published in 2015. Not only this, it has been declared essential for primary, secondary, and tertiary healthcare. In addition, it is also included in the WHO’s list of essential medicines. Let us inform you that at the product level, medical oxygen means up to 98% pure oxygen, which does not contain impurities such as moisture, dust, or other gases.
We are telling you that the air around us contains only 21% oxygen. But it cannot be used in medical emergencies. Therefore, medical oxygen is prepared in a special scientific way in large plants. That too is prepared as liquid oxygen.
We are telling you that when water is cooled to 0 degrees Celsius, it freezes into ice or solid. Similarly, when heated to 100 degrees Celsius, it boils into steam or gas. Oxygen boils into gas at -183 degrees Celsius. That is, the boiling point of water is 100 degrees Celsius, while that of oxygen is 0.183 degrees Celsius. This means that if oxygen is cooled below -183 degrees Celsius, it will turn into a liquid.
Air contains 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, and the remaining 1% is made up of gases like argon, helium, neon, krypton, and xenon. All these gases have very low but different flammability. Let us tell you that if we collect air and cool it, then xenon gas will turn into liquid at -108 degrees. In such a situation, we can separate it from the air. For example, krypton at -153.2 degrees, oxygen at -183, and other gases will gradually become liquid. We separate them and store them in liquid form. Let us tell you that this technique of separating gases from air is called the cryogenic technique for air separation. The liquid oxygen prepared using this technology is 99.5% pure.
ALSO READ : Why is Angioplasty Surgery performed?