Manufacture of Oxygen

Collection

Air is collected in a reservoir

filtration

air is passed through filters and purifiers to remove the dust

Reaction

The dust free air is moved to a tank containing sodium hydroxide. The sodium hydroxide reacts with the carbon dioxide in air to form sodium carbonate and water vapour.

Dehydration

air is moved to the drying column that contains silicone that absorbs water vapour from the air

Reason

Carbon dioxide and water vapour are removed earlier on because they solidify at low temperatures and may block the apparatus

Liquification

Air is moved to a liquifier where it is compressed at around 200 atmospheres and then passed through a water coil. The process of compression followed by expansion is repeated until the air reaches a temperature below -200 degrees Celsius. At this temperature, air is liquified.

Fractional distillation

The remaining air is the moved to a fractionating column where the components are separated according to their boiling points. Nitrogen, having a lower boiling point distilles off first leaving behind oxygen

Storage

The oxygen is then stored in gas chambers at a pressure of around 150 atmospheres

Environmental impact

During fractional distillation, carbon based fuels are burnt releasing harmful fumes such as Carbon dioxide leading to global warming

Mitigation

This can be mitigated through the use of more sustainable sources of energy