How oxygen is obtained in industry. History of discovery Industrial production of oxygen formula

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Oxygen is distributed in nature in the form of isotopes 16 O, 17 O, 18 O, which have the following percentages on Earth - 99.76%, 0.048%, 0.192%, respectively.

In the free state, oxygen exists in the form of three allotropic modifications : atomic oxygen - O o, dioxygen - O 2 and ozone - O 3. Moreover, atomic oxygen can be obtained as follows:

KClO 3 = KCl + 3O 0

KNO 3 = KNO 2 + O 0

Oxygen is part of more than 1,400 different minerals and organic substances; in the atmosphere its content is 21% by volume. And the human body contains up to 65% oxygen. Oxygen is a colorless and odorless gas, slightly soluble in water (3 volumes of oxygen dissolve in 100 volumes of water at 20 o C).

In the laboratory, oxygen is obtained by moderately heating certain substances:

1) When decomposing manganese compounds (+7) and (+4):

2KMnO 4 → K 2 MnO 4 + MnO 2 + O 2
permanganate manganate
potassium potassium

2MnO 2 → 2MnO + O 2

2) When decomposing perchlorates:

2KClO 4 → KClO 2 + KCl + 3O 2
perchlorate
potassium

3) During the decomposition of berthollet salt (potassium chlorate).
In this case, atomic oxygen is formed:

2KClO 3 → 2 KCl + 6O 0
chlorate
potassium

4) During the decomposition of hypochlorous acid salts in the light- hypochlorites:

2NaClO → 2NaCl + O 2

Ca(ClO) 2 → CaCl 2 + O 2

5) When heating nitrates.
In this case, atomic oxygen is formed. Depending on the position in the activity series of the nitrate metal, various reaction products are formed:

2NaNO 3 → 2NaNO 2 + O 2

Ca(NO 3) 2 → CaO + 2NO 2 + O 2

2AgNO3 → 2Ag + 2NO2 + O2

6) During the decomposition of peroxides:

2H 2 O 2 ↔ 2H 2 O + O 2

7) When heating oxides of inactive metals:

2Аg 2 O ↔ 4Аg + O 2

This process is relevant in everyday life. The fact is that dishes made of copper or silver, having a natural layer of oxide film, form active oxygen when heated, which is an antibacterial effect. The dissolution of salts of inactive metals, especially nitrates, also leads to the formation of oxygen. For example, the overall process of dissolving silver nitrate can be represented in stages:

AgNO 3 + H 2 O → AgOH + HNO 3

2AgOH → Ag 2 O + O 2

2Ag 2 O → 4Ag + O 2

or in summary form:

4AgNO 3 + 2H 2 O → 4Ag + 4HNO 3 + 7O 2

8) When heating chromium salts of the highest oxidation state:

4K 2 Cr 2 O 7 → 4K 2 CrO 4 + 2Cr 2 O 3 + 3 O 2
bichromate chromate
potassium potassium

In industry, oxygen is obtained:

1) Electrolytic decomposition of water:

2H 2 O → 2H 2 + O 2

2) Interaction of carbon dioxide with peroxides:

CO 2 + K 2 O 2 →K 2 CO 3 + O 2

This method is an indispensable technical solution to the problem of breathing in isolated systems: submarines, mines, spacecraft.

3) When ozone interacts with reducing agents:

O 3 + 2KJ + H 2 O → J 2 + 2KOH + O 2


Of particular importance is the production of oxygen during the process of photosynthesis.
occurring in plants. All life on Earth fundamentally depends on this process. Photosynthesis is a complex multi-step process. Light gives it its beginning. Photosynthesis itself consists of two phases: light and dark. During the light phase, the chlorophyll pigment contained in plant leaves forms a so-called “light-absorbing” complex,” which takes electrons from water, and thereby splits it into hydrogen ions and oxygen:

2H 2 O = 4e + 4H + O 2

Accumulated protons contribute to the synthesis of ATP:

ADP + P = ATP

During the dark phase, carbon dioxide and water are converted into glucose. And oxygen is released as a by-product:

6CO 2 + 6H 2 O = C 6 H 12 O 6 + O 2

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Oxygen (O 2) is a chemically active gas without color, taste or smell.

The easiest way to get oxygen is from air, since air is not a compound, and dividing air into its elements is not that difficult.

The main industrial method for producing oxygen from air is cryogenic rectification, when liquid air is separated into components in distillation columns in the same way as, for example, oil is divided. But to turn atmospheric air into liquid, it must be cooled to minus 196°C. To do this, the latter must be compressed, and then allowed to expand and at the same time forced to produce mechanical work. Then, in accordance with the laws of physics, the air must cool. The machines in which this happens are called expanders. Modern cryogenic installations for air separation, in which cold is obtained using turboexpanders, provide industry, primarily metallurgy and chemistry, with hundreds of thousands of cubic meters of oxygen gas.

Air separation units based on membrane or adsorption technology are also successfully used in industry.

Application of oxygen in industry and medicine

Industry

Application of oxygen

Metallurgical industry

  • Making steel from cast iron (removing excess carbon from cast iron).
  • Converter method of steel production.
  • Electric steelmaking production.
  • Oxygen blast in blast furnaces and open-hearth furnaces, converters.
  • Production of ferroalloys.
  • Smelting of nickel, zinc, lead, zirconium and other non-ferrous metals.
  • Intensification of raw material roasting processes in non-ferrous metallurgy.
  • Direct reduction of iron.
  • Processing of mattes.

Chemical industry

  • Oxygen as an oxidizing agent in the production of artificial liquid fuels, lubricating oils, nitric and sulfuric acids, methanol, ammonia and ammonia fertilizers, metal peroxides and other chemical products.
  • Acetylene production (thermo-oxidative cracking).

Petrochemical industry

  • Oxygen is used to make refineries operate more efficiently - to increase the productivity of oil cracking units.

Energy

  • Gasification of solid fuel.
  • Compression of a hard-coal mixture.
  • Enrichment of air oxygen for industrial boilers.

Construction and mechanical engineering

  • Oxygen-acetylene gas cutting and gas welding of metals and alloys.
  • Plasma cutting of metals and soldering.
  • Sputtering and surfacing of metals.

Gold mining

  • Extraction of precious metals from ores.
  • Thermal drilling of hard rocks.
  • Gold refining.

Oil production

  • Injecting oxygen into the formation to increase displacement energy.
  • Creation of a combustion source that effectively moves inside the formation.

Glass industry

  • Oxygen allows you to increase the temperature in glass melting furnaces and improve the combustion process, reducing emissions of nitrogen oxides and particulate matter from the furnaces.
  • In the production of glass products, oxygen is supplied to gas burners, which are used to cut off the substandard part of the product, melt the edges and fire polish the surface to melt microdefects.
  • Oxygen is needed in glass blowing, in medical and laboratory glass factories, and in the production of light bulbs.

Ecology

Oxygen is used in processes:

  • To increase the efficiency of ozonation plants - ozonation for water treatment, wastewater treatment, pulp bleaching, etc.
  • Waste disposal - during the neutralization (oxidation) of chemically active waste in treatment plants in waste incinerators with oxygen blast.
  • When purifying drinking water.
  • When recycling metals.

Agriculture

Food industry

  • In the food industry, oxygen is registered as a food additive E948.
  • Oxygen as a propellant and packaging gas.

Ozonation installations

  • Ozonation for water treatment, wastewater treatment, pulp bleaching, etc.

Medicine

  • Enrichment of breathing gas mixtures with oxygen.
  • Oxygen cocktails.
  • Anesthesia (narcosis).
  • Physical therapy.
  • Ozonation for disinfection.

Four “chalcogen” elements (i.e., “giving birth to copper”) lead the main subgroup of group VI (according to the new classification - the 16th group) of the periodic system. In addition to sulfur, tellurium and selenium, these also include oxygen. Let's take a closer look at the properties of this element, the most common on Earth, as well as the use and production of oxygen.

Element prevalence

In bound form, oxygen is included in the chemical composition of water - its percentage is about 89%, as well as in the composition of the cells of all living beings - plants and animals.

In the air, oxygen is in a free state in the form of O2, occupying a fifth of its composition, and in the form of ozone - O3.

Physical properties

Oxygen O2 is a gas that is colorless, tasteless and odorless. Slightly soluble in water. The boiling point is 183 degrees below zero Celsius. In liquid form, oxygen is blue, and in solid form it forms blue crystals. The melting point of oxygen crystals is 218.7 degrees below zero Celsius.

Chemical properties

When heated, this element reacts with many simple substances, both metals and non-metals, forming so-called oxides - compounds of elements with oxygen. in which elements enter with oxygen is called oxidation.

For example,

4Na + O2= 2Na2O

2. Through the decomposition of hydrogen peroxide when it is heated in the presence of manganese oxide, which acts as a catalyst.

3. Through the decomposition of potassium permanganate.

Oxygen is produced in industry in the following ways:

1. For technical purposes, oxygen is obtained from air, in which its usual content is about 20%, i.e. fifth part. To do this, the air is first burned, producing a mixture containing about 54% liquid oxygen, 44% liquid nitrogen and 2% liquid argon. These gases are then separated using a distillation process, using the relatively small range between the boiling points of liquid oxygen and liquid nitrogen - minus 183 and minus 198.5 degrees, respectively. It turns out that nitrogen evaporates earlier than oxygen.

Modern equipment ensures the production of oxygen of any degree of purity. The nitrogen that is obtained during separation is used as a raw material in the synthesis of its derivatives.

2. Also produces very pure oxygen. This method has become widespread in countries with rich resources and cheap electricity.

Application of oxygen

Oxygen is the most important element in the life of our entire planet. This gas, which is contained in the atmosphere, is consumed in the process by animals and people.

Obtaining oxygen is very important for such areas of human activity as medicine, welding and cutting of metals, blasting, aviation (for human breathing and for engine operation), and metallurgy.

In the process of human economic activity, oxygen is consumed in large quantities - for example, when burning various types of fuel: natural gas, methane, coal, wood. In all these processes, it is formed. At the same time, nature has provided for the process of natural binding of this compound using photosynthesis, which takes place in green plants under the influence of sunlight. As a result of this process, glucose is formed, which the plant then uses to build its tissues.

Oxygen is one of the gases most used by mankind; it is widely used in almost all areas of our life. Metallurgy, chemical industry, medicine, national economy, aviation - this is just a short list of areas where this substance cannot be avoided.

Oxygen is produced in accordance with two technologies: laboratory and industrial. The first methods for producing colorless gas were based on chemical reactions. Oxygen is produced by the decomposition of potassium permanganate, berthollet salt or hydrogen peroxide in the presence of a catalyst. However, laboratory techniques cannot fully satisfy the needs for this unique chemical element.

The second method of producing oxygen is cryogenic rectification or using adsorption or membrane technologies. The first method ensures high purity of separation products, but has a longer start-up period (compared to the second methods).

Adsorption oxygen plants have proven themselves to be one of the best among high-performance systems for the production of oxygen-enriched air. They make it possible to obtain colorless gas with a purity of up to 95% (up to 99% with the use of an additional purification step). Their use is economically justified, especially in situations where there is no need for high-purity oxygen, for which one would have to overpay.

Main characteristics of cryogenic systems

Are you interested in producing oxygen with a purity of up to 99.9%? Then pay attention to installations operating on the basis of cryogenic technology. Advantages of systems for the production of high purity oxygen:

  • long service life of the installation;
  • high performance;
  • the ability to obtain oxygen with a purity of 95 to 99.9%.

But due to the large dimensions of cryogenic systems, the impossibility of quickly starting and stopping, and other factors, the use of cryogenic equipment is not always advisable.

Operating principle of adsorption units

The operating diagram of oxygen systems using adsorption technology can be presented as follows:

  • compressed air moves into the receiver, into the air treatment system to get rid of mechanical impurities and filter drip moisture;
  • the purified air is sent to the adsorption air separation unit, which includes adsorbers with adsorbent;
  • during operation, adsorbers are in two states - absorption and regeneration; at the absorption stage, oxygen enters the oxygen receiver, and nitrogen at the generation stage is discharged into the atmosphere; after which the oxygen is sent to the consumer;
  • if necessary, the gas pressure can be increased using an oxygen booster compressor and then refilled into cylinders.

Adsorption complexes are distinguished by a high level of reliability, full automation, ease of maintenance, small size and weight.

Advantages of gas separation systems

Installations and stations using adsorption technology to produce oxygen are widely used in a variety of fields: welding and cutting metals, construction, fish farming, growing mussels, shrimp, etc.

Advantages of gas separation systems:

  • the ability to automate the oxygen production process;
  • no special requirements for the premises;
  • quick start and stop;
  • high reliability;
  • low cost of oxygen produced.

Advantages of adsorption installations of NPK Grasys

Are you interested in producing oxygen using industrial methods? Would you like to receive oxygen at minimal financial cost? The research and production company Grasys will help solve your problem at the highest level. We offer reliable and efficient systems for obtaining oxygen from air. Here are the main distinctive features of our products:

  • full automation;
  • designs thought out to the smallest detail;
  • modern monitoring and control systems.

The oxygen produced by our air separation adsorption units has a purity of up to 95% (with the option of post-treatment up to 99%). Gas with such characteristics is widely used in metallurgy for welding and cutting metals, and in the national economy. The equipment we produce uses modern technologies that provide unique capabilities in the field of gas separation.

Features of our oxygen adsorption plants:

  • high reliability;
  • low cost of oxygen produced;
  • innovative highly intelligent monitoring and control system;
  • ease of maintenance;
  • the ability to produce oxygen with a purity of up to 95% (with the option of additional purification up to 99%);
  • productivity is up to 6000 m³/h.

Adsorption oxygen plants of NPK Grasys are a unique combination of global design experience in the production of gas separation equipment and domestic innovative technologies.

The main reasons for cooperation with NPK Grasys

The industrial method of producing oxygen using installations based on adsorption technology is one of the most promising today. It allows you to obtain a colorless gas with minimal energy costs of the required purity. A substance with these parameters is in demand in metallurgy, mechanical engineering, the chemical industry, and medicine.

The cryogenic rectification method is the optimal solution when it is necessary to produce high-purity oxygen (up to 99.9%).

The leading domestic company Grasys offers highly efficient systems for the production of oxygen using adsorption technology on favorable terms. We have extensive experience in implementing a variety of turnkey projects, so we are not afraid of even the most complex tasks.

Advantages of working with a responsible equipment supplier NPK Grasys:

  • our company is a direct manufacturer, so the cost of sold installations is not increased by additional intermediary commissions;
  • high quality products;
  • a full range of repair and maintenance services for oxygen production plants;
  • Individual approach to each client;
  • many years of experience in the oxygen production sector.

Call our managers to clarify the nuances of cooperation.

In more detail you can familiarize yourself with oxygen equipment (oxygen generators, oxygen installations, oxygen stations) on the page

Question No. 2 How is oxygen obtained in the laboratory and in industry? Write the equations for the corresponding reactions. How do these methods differ from each other?

Answer:

In the laboratory, oxygen can be obtained in the following ways:

1) Decomposition of hydrogen peroxide in the presence of a catalyst (manganese oxide

2) Decomposition of berthollet salt (potassium chlorate):

3) Decomposition of potassium permanganate:

In industry, oxygen is obtained from air, which contains about 20% by volume. Air is liquefied under pressure and extreme cooling. Oxygen and nitrogen (the second main component of air) have different boiling points. Therefore, they can be separated by distillation: nitrogen has a lower boiling point than oxygen, so nitrogen evaporates before oxygen.

Differences between industrial and laboratory methods for producing oxygen:

1) All laboratory methods for producing oxygen are chemical, that is, the transformation of some substances into others occurs. The process of obtaining oxygen from air is a physical process, since the transformation of some substances into others does not occur.

2) Oxygen can be obtained from air in much larger quantities.



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