The largest user of oxygen in manufacturing is the steel industry. Modern steelmaking rhelies heavily on the use of oxygen to enrich air and increase combustion temperatures (oxyfuel) in blast furnaces.

During the steel making process, unwanted carbon combines with oxygen to form carbon oxides, which leave as gases. Oxygen is fed into the steel bath through a special lance. Oxygen is used to allow greater use of scrap metal in electric arc furnaces. Large quantities of oxygen are also used to make other metals, such as copper, lead, and zinc.

Smelting times and energy consumption can also be reduced by special oxy-oil or oxy-gas burners in electro-steel furnaces and induction smelters for aluminum. A high thermal efficiency is achieved by these oxyfuel burners resulting in rapid combustion occurs at approximately 2800o Celcius. Higher heat transfer, means shorter heating time, longer furnace life, and increased production capacity.

Oxygen is used with fuel gases in gas welding, gas cutting, oxygen scarfing, flame cleaning, flame hardening, and flame straightening. In gas cutting, the oxygen must be of high quality to ensure a high cutting speed and a clean cut. Oxygen is used in the process of decreasing the level of carbon in metals and the conversion of hot metal formed in a blast furnace to liquid steel (Decarburization)

On-site oxygen production has many advantages :

• Operating cost reduction
• No heavy cylinder bottles to handle
• Enhanced safety as no more storage of high quantities of combustive gas, under pressure or in liquid cryogenic form
• Ease of mind as the oxygen can be available 24×7. This means no more supply constraints

Check our Cangas range of PSA and VPSA Oxygen Generators here